She's Not There
by AA-Tenks
Summary: Life had never been so unforgiving to Callie Torres, and after an accident that impeccably endangers her life, she meets the cheerful and strikingly enigmatic Arizona Robbins, who ultimately helps her recover. But no one aside from Callie seems to know who she is...
1. Chapter 1

Slightly AU (well, more than slight, but whatever) only for the happenings of the hospital wherein Derek never loses his shit and leaves when that patient dies in 5x15 (or something like that) and Izzie never gets cancer. They're not relevant characters to the story, so it won't matter much.

* * *

Callie mashed her foot on the brake pedal only a moment too late. It was a ghastly winter storm – a blizzard of disastrous doom – to which she'd slowly been maneuvering her car through. It was brief.

But she hit the brake a second too late and suddenly could not see or breathe or even feel. She certainly felt the force of her body shooting forward, the flimsy seat belt that Mark had urged her to get replaced had ripped at the seams – the faulty duct tape tearing with the force of her body – the force of the impact.

She felt her head meet the glass of the windshield and suddenly, things were dark.

###

_Two Days Ago_

"Hey. Mind if I sit here?" Lexie Grey asked her, letting herself slide on the bar stool next to Callie.

Callie cleared her throat and said, "No, no. I'm just… overthinking," finishing her statement with a shot of liquor.

Lexie briefly glanced over at her and started to speak.

"…You think he'll tell him?"

"If he's not an idiot," Callie responded.

She sighed and shifted her glance downwards, lost in her own thoughts. Everyone around her seemed so content, so _happy_.

"Are you okay?" Lexie asked her.

"Uh… um, I don't- I'm fine," she murmured, the tone of her voice failing her words.

She got up from the stool and rushed to the bar bathroom, closing the door behind her. She felt the tears come in a rush. It was Valentine's day and she'd been so miserable. And everyone was happy – everyone she knew had something going on. She felt so empty – especially today did she feel the losses of her broken heart and recalled the man who cheated and failed to love her, then becoming a stranger – and the woman who left her in a parking lot, only to never look back. She vanished from her life – they all seemed to vanish. Like momentary happiness, everything had at once dissipated.

She wanted a savior – or something of the kind. Someone to lift her spirits, something to calm her down.

Her career wasn't moving – not much. She'd been too miserable to even consider furthering her interest in cartilage, her personal life had been such a wreck. So she sat in that dirty bar bathroom in Joe's bar and cried her eyes out.

She thought that maybe Lexie would eventually come in to inquire. She thought maybe someone would come in to use the bathroom that she'd been utilizing as an outlet for her tears.

But no one ever came.

###

Callie woke up the next morning with a resignation towards her personal life. She walked out of her room in a haze of melancholy, walking over to the kitchen to make some coffee. In the next room, she heard the silent chatter of Cristina and Owen, perhaps just waking up from slumber. She grimaced – she didn't want to be one of those miserable people that hated being around couples, but she only felt herself more prone to complete dismay over her friends' romances.

She decidedly chose to bury herself in her work, leaving for the hospital to start her day.

At work, her eyes briefly lit up at the prospect of her best friend bringing her coffee – but it wasn't for her. Neither was it for Addie. Mark scampered off towards Lexie with glee, his face falling when she'd rejected his offer.

"What a baby," Callie remarked, watching the scene from afar.

"He's enchanted," Addison told her.

"Uh-huh," Callie murmured, looking down at her chart.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she lied, walking off to allot herself some alone time.

After her rotations and some odd surgeries, she laid in a dim-lit on-call room and stared blankly at the ceiling, not thinking of anything in particular. She felt numb to any sort of emotional sensation – she felt as though her breakdown last night had been refreshing in the sense that she could no longer feel such treacherous heartache.

She simply laid there and stared and stared, immobile and sleepless.

###

"Were you here all night?" she heard behind her.

She briefly turned to look at Mark and then peered down back at her chart.

"Yeah. I worked the ER last night. I'm taking another shift today."

"You look like hell, Torres. What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing. I just feel like working the ER," she responded.

"Liar. You need to sleep. Stop pushing yourself so hard when you have no reason to."

"I have plenty of reason to," Callie scoffed.

"Look, let's just talk about it," Mark reasoned.

"No, no. Forget me and go on with your happy romance with Little Grey. I'll be fine, Mark."

"Callie-"

"I've gotta go," she said, dismissing him and pacing down the hall.

"Callie!"

###

Mark had texted and called, but Callie simply ignored it. She was finished with her shifts in the ER and finally decided to head home after Webber lectured her for the ridiculous amount of hours she'd worked for the week – without any sleep, at that.

It was snowing heavily – a blizzard was making its way into Seattle, the worst in years. Seattle never got terrible weather conditions, and it was rare that snow should fall so heavily on the city. It was prone to about two or three (& very light) snow storms a year, but nothing extravagant. It was a strange day, a strange time. In the middle of February, a terrible blizzard had consumed the city.

And Callie suddenly missed Miami. She stood in the snow, feeling the heavy flakes stick to her jacket and melt in her hair. She was cold. She thought that maybe she should go home and rest, but she was sure that Owen was staying with Cristina that night and she really didn't want to be around anyone at all – not even her notoriously reclusive roommate and her strange, but respectful boyfriend.

So she went across the street and started the engine to her aging car – it took a few tries to get it rolling, but she finally got it to start. She briefly cleaned the snow off the windshields while the car warmed up and sat back inside. She put on the wipers and watched as it meekly attempted to clear the windshield of wet blemishes. It didn't help much.

She struggled with her seat belt, pulling the loose material over her body and into its socket. She had to get them replaced. She had to get a lot of things replaced. She shifted her car and started to drive – her mind blank, her body fatigued, and her destination unknown.

It wasn't long before the blizzard had gotten worse. Callie hadn't even driven that far from the hospital and already, she could not see the road or distinguish it from any other streets – it was a blanket of sheer white. No one had expected this much snow, and the plowers hadn't been sent on this part of the street yet.

But Callie didn't mind it, despite the fact that she should have. She simply drove through it. And before she could realize it, her senses were scattered – the windshield was caked in white, her car went skidding, and she crashed somewhere on a street corner.

Her only hope was that she had not hit anyone in the impact.

###

They operated on her almost immediately. Luckily, someone had caught the scene and phoned the ambulance right away. When rushed to the ER, everyone was mortified to discover that the car crash victim was Callie.

Mark was frantic – everyone was. The OR was packed, with Derek as the lead surgeon. Callie had suffered extensive head trauma, she was at risk for brain injury. Derek worked diligently, careful in his methodology, careful not to screw anything up.

Everyone was praying. Dearly worried, channeling their thoughts to the unconscious Callie Torres. Mark cursed that crappy, godforsaken car of hers.

It took several operations in between two or three days. Derek was assured that she'd be fine to some extent – but there was no telling what her injuries were without having her first wake up.

But she'd be fine.

She'd be fine.

###

When Callie opened her eyes, she found herself staring into two bright blue eyes that were peering straight back down at her. They blinked momentarily, and for a brief moment, Callie felt that they were the most beautiful blue eyes she'd ever seen. She then felt the owner of those same striking eyes graze her forehead. Her fingertips were cool on Callie's hot skin.

"Hi. How are you feeling?" the woman asked her, pulling away from her.

"I feel like shit," Callie groaned, startled by the sound of her own raspy voice. It almost brought her back to her bleak reality.

She tried to sit up, but the woman simply put up a finger – indicating her to stop.

Callie acquiesced and watched as the woman pressed a button on the bedside, and then she felt the upper-side of the bed push upwards. The vision that had been obscured was suddenly no more and now she could see ahead of her. Callie observed the woman – she wore simple navy blue scrubs (so she was an Attending, then) and had wavy golden blonde hair that stopped just at her shoulders. Her eyes were of a bright & remarkable blue, eyes that seemed to send a curious chill down Callie's body. Callie noticed the dimples in the woman's cheeks when she noticed Callie's gaze upon her and responded with a smile.

"You were out for quite some time," the blonde woman told her.

"Was I?" Callie groaned, her head pounding.

She hadn't felt the need to question anything – reality was making its slow course back to her and trying to reflect upon the recent past only seemed to hurt her head.

"I need painkillers, stat."

"I'm not your doctor, but I'll get them for you in a moment," the woman told her.

"I would figure that Shepherd would be my doctor," Callie said.

"I think that he is."

"You _think?_"

"I guess he is, I don't know."

"Okay…" Callie murmured.

"So, can you tell me what happened?" the woman asked, curiosity in her bright eyes.

"I'm tired, maybe later," she muttered.

The blonde woman just narrowed her eyes, but made no complaint of Callie's decision.

"Can you just get me those painkillers, please?"

###

"Good to see you awake," Derek told her, nodding his head while reviewing her chart. He had the typical group of residents with him – Meredith, Alex, Cristina, Lexie – even George and Izzie (much to her dismay).

"Mmm, you could lose the company, though," she told him.

He nodded and politely turned to them, watching as they hurriedly scuffled out of the room, leaving the two alone.

"How are you feeling?"

"A little better after those pain killers."

"You were already awake?"

"I was."

"Who prescribed your pain killers?"

"That blonde doctor."

Derek watched her with confusion etched on his face. Callie thought it was probably a useless thing to say – but she hadn't remembered to ask the woman's name and it wasn't a big deal, anyway. She was glad for the pain to have subsided, that's all that seemed to matter at the moment.

"The accident wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We managed to breach the damage before anything got worse. The only thing I was concerned about was brain injury. Do you remember what happened?"

"I do."

"Then-"

"I do, but I'd rather not talk about it right now."

"Callie-"

"It was an accident, that's all. And I'm fine. I don't feel terrible and I remember things just fine."

"Alright. I'll come back to check on you later," Derek told her, as he turned to leave.

"Derek?"

"Hm?" he asked, turning back to look at her.

"Thank you for saving my life."

###

The dreams that Callie had were of snow. Blankets upon blankets of snow, piling down on the still, desolate streets of Seattle. She found herself standing on that road – she saw a wrecked car, caved in – not recognizable for it seemed to be utterly destroyed. A woman was standing beside the crashed car. She walked towards her, the snow crunching under her feet. The woman turned to her and Callie stopped in her tracks – immobile from the blue eyes that seemed to freeze her in place.

And then she awoke from her dream to find that same woman in the midst of switching her IV bag. She blinked slowly, opening her eyes again and studying the other woman's movements.

"I was dreaming of you," she started.

The woman simply looked down at her, as if she had expected her to be awake, as if she were awake the entire time.

"I know," she responded, with a kind of half-smile.

"How do you know?"

"You didn't seem so surprised to see me."

"You're making that up," Callie retorted.

"Maybe I am," she said, finishing the necessary adjustments.

"You're not a nurse. What are you doing?"

"Just making sure you're well taken care of."

"Why?"

"Shh, drink this," the woman told her, offering her a cup of water.

Callie didn't ask anything, she simply took the cup and drank it as the blonde eyed her intently. Then she felt the woman reach out and stroke her cheek, her fingertips lightly grazing against her chin. They were cool, almost frozen.

"What are you doing?" Callie asked.

"Making sure you're alright?" the woman responded.

"You sound like you're not even sure."

"I'm really not, Calliope."

Callie narrowed her eyes at the woman's calling of her name. She'd clearly read her chart – she was taking initiative and manhandling the situation in a strange way…. Was she an intern or a resident pretending to be an attending? What exactly was she doing?

"Who are-" Callie started to say.

"I have to go now," the woman told her, hurrying off before Callie could inquire.

She frowned, but her joy was immediately roused again when she'd noticed her best friend standing at the door.

"Cal! You're awake!"

###

"Is that blonde doctor new? I haven't seen her before."

"Who? A new doctor?" Mark asked, confused. He hadn't heard anything about any new doctors. He knew that the former Head of Pediatrics had died, but the vacant status was quickly replaced with another doctor who was renowned in his field as one of the best surgeons in the country. Mark had met him already. He did not, however, recall a new blonde female doctor.

"Yeah. I didn't ask her name."

"Is she hot?"

Callie thought for a moment – there was no doubt in her mind that the woman was attractive. She was _definitely _attractive. Callie felt herself watching her whenever she'd been in the room, her eyes were glued. Callie couldn't determine much from the navy scrubs she'd been wearing, but she was definitely beautiful.

"Super hot. She's been coming often and taking care of me."

Mark whistled at her remark.

"Taking numbers while bedridden? Way to go, Torres."

"I think she's an intern or a resident pretending to be an attending or something. Maybe even a nurse."

"How's that?"

"She's been doing such menial work and I'm not even her patient."

"She _definitely_ wants to get into your panties."

###

Callie thought she'd try to sleep – the door to her hospital room was finally shut so she could allow herself some sleep. She briefly closed her eyes and lost herself in her thoughts – what had she been thinking, driving off in the middle of a snow storm? She shouldn't have gone to such extremes to get away. She shouldn't have worked herself so hard.

"Aaargh!" she exclaimed.

"Calm down," she heard.

Her eyes shot open and she sat up and looked towards the window where the woman had been sitting and watching her. She'd brought a tray of food that sat there next to a bundle of lilies.

"I-I didn't hear you come in," she muttered, but the woman only laughed.

"I brought you some food. You haven't eaten all day."

Callie narrowed her eyes as the woman sat up to bring her the tray.

"Are you going to tell me who you are, or are you going to keep pretending that you're my caretaker?" she asked.

She pulled the hospital bed table over to Callie and placed the food tray on top of it.

"Eat."

Callie noticed that the woman was wearing a lab coat this time – _Perfect_, she thought, and pushed the hospital bed table away, pulling on the woman's lab coat instead. She pulled her close enough so that she could read the name on the coat.

"Arizona? Your name is Arizona?" she asked.

"Yes, my name is Arizona."

"That's a weird name."

Arizona pulled her coat from Callie's grip and moved back to the widow side, fixing the lilies in the vase, dismissing any further conversation about her name.

"Sorry."

"That's alright."

"Did you bring those for me?" Callie asked her.

"I did. It's bright and white like the snow, don't you think?"

"It is."

"It's been a long time since it's snowed like this," Arizona told her, staring out at the snow falling through the window. The storm had since subsided and the streets were mostly clear. All that was left were some light snow flurries spread throughout the weeks.

"I don't even remember the last time."

"Of course you wouldn't. It was years ago."

"Then you wouldn't, either."

Arizona only smiled at her remark, and turned around – watching her from the window.

"So why are you taking care of me if you're not even supposed to be in this department?" Callie asked.

"I was curious."

"About?"

"About you."

"Okay…" Callie murmured, thrown off by her suggestiveness. Was she flirting? She didn't seem to be – she actually seemed genuinely curious.

"My case is not that strange, you know," Callie continued.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Arizona watched her with an air of calm, her wide eyes curious and engaged. Callie thought it wouldn't hurt – why would it? This woman was only being kind to her, so why not share her history?

"I've just… been miserable. It's hard picking yourself up after a failed marriage where your husband cheats on you and a relationship where you're not good enough. I am not going anywhere, especially now. I'm stuck as a resident, I've just struck a lot of failures. It all mounted up. Somewhere, I started sinking. And then I lost myself in that and decided to go drive into a blizzard with a half-dead car which almost led to me being fully dead," Callie explained.

"So it sucks," she laughed.

"Sounds like it," Arizona said, plainly.

"Uh-huh. But it must be great having your status. I'm almost flattered being taken care of by the head of a department. You must have worked hard."

"I wouldn't say so."

"But it's true. Yet no one seems to know you?"

Arizona didn't say anything, but simply watched her.

"No one knows me," she said.

"You don't know Karev?" Callie mused.

"The angry guy?"

"I guess so, yeah."

"He's a bit punkish, sure. But I can see the promise in him."

"It says that you're the Head of Paeds," Callie guessed that the new guy had already been replaced with her, "so how do you not know your residents?"

"I don't really know anyone here."

"Did you just transfer?"

"No."

"I just don't get why you're hanging around here all the time."

"That's because you're the only one that knows I'm here."

"Then introduce yourself to other people, Arizona."

"I can't really do that."

"And why is that?" Callie groaned.

"Well, because I'm dead."

* * *

No, this isn't Izzie/Denny Calzona style.


	2. Chapter 2

There was only silence in the room as Callie watched Arizona who, in turn, only watched her back. She was struck simultaneously with silence and a kind of bewilderment – even moreso due to Arizona's calm demeanor. The blonde retained an air of solemnity, and her features only seemed to suggest that she was entirely serious. She did not crack a smile or fall into a fit of laughter, as Callie thought people often did after such vulgar jokes. No, her silence suggested total seriousness in her statement. Callie scoffed.

"You're an idiot," she declared.

At that, Arizona raised her eyebrows in something like amusement or confusion, Callie couldn't quite tell, and felt as though she could not read her expression. Arizona said nothing, but only watched her silently.

"What a terrible joke," Callie spat.

"Not to mention totally inappropriate."

Arizona only stood at the window, watching her from a comfortable distance, while leaning back on the ledge. Her blonde hair and blue eyes seemed to illuminate in the dim light of the hospital room. She stood silently next to the white lilies, then crossing her arms, waiting for Callie to continue. She looked so alive.

"I just opened up to you and then you decide to make a joke like that?" Callie spat, fumbling with the hospital sheets, as if she were going to toss them at her.

She was infuriatingly exhausted, and the woman's joking only spurred on her anger. She'd been sitting in a hospital bed for days, recovering slowly – feeling dreadfully lonely and reflecting on what brought her there in the first place. And now she'd finally been able to express her thoughts honestly, she'd finally been ready to lay her insecurities out in the open, yet this woman seemed to stomp on them – to make fun of them. She felt mocked.

"I wasn't joking," Arizona replied.

"I almost _died_," Callie told her.

"Well, you're not dead," Arizona retorted.

Callie narrowed her eyes as Arizona stood up and walked over to her.

"But you are?"

"I am."

God, she couldn't take this nonsense.

"Get out. And don't come back."

"Calliope."

"It's Callie, _Callie._ Now get the hell out!"

Arizona watched her for a moment. She nodded her head, turned around, and left through the door, shutting it softly behind her.

_A dead woman leaving through the door_, Callie thought.

How stupid.

###

"Feeling better?" Mark asked her.

"Much," she replied.

He grinned at her – then walking over to the window ledge to grab a chair. He briefly looked outside, then to the table against the window, examining the lilies in the vase.

"So the snow flurries are finally letting up. The snow's been melting away thanks to the sun. The temperature's been going up. It's lovely," he said, bringing the chair over to her bedside. He turned it backwards and sat on it, putting his legs on either side of the chair and folding his arms against the back, using it as an armrest.

"Uh-huh.." Callie murmured.

"Who brought the flowers?" he asked, grinning.

"Blondie did," she told him.

"Thought so. She's going hard. Get in your pants yet?" he coaxed.

Callie rolled her eyes at him and sighed.

"Blonde told me she was dead so I told her to get out."

"Say what?"

"She joked that she was dead."

"That's a weird joke."

"It's a _stupid_ joke," Callie spat.

"Maybe her sense of humor just sucks," Mark suggested.

"She's an idiot. I almost died."

"She _did_ bring you flowers."

"Come on, Mark. You haven't met her. That's not something you say to someone you've just met."

"True. Maybe she's just bad at getting to know someone."

"Stop trying to defend her."

"I'm not, I'm not. It's a good thing, you know… maybe she's interested in you and maybe it's a misunderstand-"

"Shut up. I'm not some lonely old maid that needs to get laid. Stop treating me like that."

"That's not what I meant, Cal. I'm sorry, you're right."

Callie sighed and leaned back on her bed, folding her arms behind her head.

"When the hell can I go back to operating?"

"After you get discharged. It'll be soon."

"Yeah… I guess."

Callie silently stared up at the ceiling while Mark watched her. She looked fine, she seemed to be recovering nicely and it wouldn't be too soon before she'd be back to normal, he thought.

"She doesn't have friends here," Callie suddenly started to say.

"Blondie?"

"Yeah. She said no one knows that she's here. Maybe she's just bad at making friends, like you said."

"Probably. Like I was saying, maybe it's just a misunderstanding."

"Maybe," Callie thought. But she had seemed so friendly, so kind to Callie during her recovery – making sure that she was alright. She'd been attentive to all of Callie's needs… but she had looked so serious when making that vulgar joke. Something about it had struck Callie as odd.

"Her name is Arizona," she told him.

"That's a weird name."

"It is, isn't it?"

###

_She really didn't come back_, Callie thought. She ran her fingers through her hair. She had slept uncomfortably, for Arizona seemed to have taken over her thoughts. She wondered what had been going through her head when she'd told her that. Callie hadn't shared much information about her to Mark. Instead, she asked him about Lexie and watched as his face lit up, ecstatic to share all of the details about their relationship. She couldn't bother her friend with meaningless jabber about a woman she barely even knew.

Callie threw the hospital sheets off of her and forced herself to get up. She'd probably have to go to physical therapy after such an accident, but she felt well enough to get up on her own. She put her two feet on the floor and got off the bed slowly, reaching out her hands to maintain balance. She slowly walked her way to the bathroom, smiling to herself. Recovery would go smoothly, she wouldn't have to be in physical therapy that long, after all.

She couldn't wait to be discharged. She wouldn't be a patient anymore. She'd be walking the halls as a doctor. She'd be badass again. Badass Callie Torres.

###

Callie had felt lonely. Better in regards to her physical state, but she'd felt lonely and she wasn't sure why. She thought it must have been Arizona – the way she came in like a sudden ray of sunshine, then simply leaving. She was a breath of fresh air in Callie's increasingly dismal life.

Callie watched as Mark dumped the withered lilies into the trash can.

"Hey!" Callie protested.

"What? They were dying."

He picked up the sunflowers Lexie had bought for her earlier and fixed them in the vase. Callie simply sighed and shifted her gaze to the doorway. Her eyes opened in surprise as she saw Arizona standing there, watching her.

"So blondie never came back? Thought she'd bring you more flowers."

Arizona said nothing, but simply walked over to the window, watching as Mark neatly arranged the new, fresh set of flowers in the vase.

"She's here right now, you goof."

"Huh?" Mark mumbled, shifting his gaze to the doorway.

Callie's eyes widened – he looked right through Arizona as if she were not there, directing his attention to the open, vacant doorway.

"Where is she?"

"Uh."

Arizona watched in amusement as Mark looked at the doorway, turning his head to see if someone was standing by the edge of the door or in the hallway. But he saw no one. Arizona continued to watch Mark, then, she turned her gaze to Callie.

"You see? He can't see me," she told her.

Callie narrowed her eyes at the blonde.

"You're not funny, Mark."

"Huh?" he asked, looking back at Callie.

"Neither are you, Arizona," she scoffed, now directing her attention to the blonde who only watched her with a kind of sadness etched in her eyes.

Mark raised an eyebrow and looked at the vacant spot next to him, to where Callie was directing her attention.

"I really don't like this joke," Callie groaned.

"What are you-"

"Get out, Mark."

"But, Cal-"

"Just get out."

He watched her confusedly – her gaze was still lingering on the empty space next to him. He shrugged his shoulders, maybe she was upset with him for the lilies. Maybe he'd been too nonchalant with everything, trying to lighten her mood.

"Okay…" he murmured,

Arizona moved over to the window ledge and crossed her arms, watching Callie in silence again as Mark started to leave.

"You too, Arizona."

Mark briefly turned to look at Callie, only to find her staring at the window ledge, her gaze fixed on nothing in particular. He scratched the back of his head and left her there.

"He didn't see me," Arizona said, breaking the silence.

"Leave," Callie demanded.

Arizona sighed and exited through the doorway.

"By the way, dead people don't use the door!" Callie called out to her departing form.

###

"So, the big day is almost here. How are you feeling, Callie?"

"I feel just fine. Amazing, actually. I feel amazing. So discharge me already!" Callie growled.

Derek watched as she tangled her feet in the sheets – clearly, she couldn't keep still. She was eager to just get going.

"Soon," he laughed.

"How soon is soon?" Callie asked him.

"Very soon, believe me," he told her.

"By the way, I've set you up with a physical therapist for two weeks. He'll determine the rest but it's important that you attend so that you'll be cleared for surgery."

"I have to wait two weeks!?" Callie groaned.

"It's a slow process, Callie."

Callie sighed again, she felt as though she'd been doing that much too often. She watched as Derek scribbled some notes on his chart, probably regarding the physical therapist. At least she wouldn't be confined to the hospital bed for much longer, she thought briefly. Her attention was suddenly caught by the whisk of blonde hair at the doorway. Arizona walked over to her usual spot, while Callie eyed her intently.

"Back again? I thought I'd told you to leave."

"What?" Derek asked, looking up at her from his chart. He followed her gaze to the window behind him – but he hadn't seen anyone. He looked back at her.

She looked up at him.

"Tell her to leave."

"Tell who to leave?" Derek asked.

"Ugh," Callie groaned.

"Callie?"

"So you're in this too, huh?" she asked.

"What?"

"She's right _there_," Callie said, pointing at Arizona.

Derek turned his gaze, once again, to the window ledge behind him.

"Um, Callie…" he started to say.

Callie narrowed her eyes at Derek, almost baffled by his disregard to Arizona's presence. She was convinced that Derek was in this, as well.

"Real mature, Derek."

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing. When you're done, shut the door behind you."

"Uh. Alright."

Callie laid back on the bed, watching Arizona again, then closing her eyes, determined to ignore the persistent woman. She couldn't believe that Derek would be in on Mark's joke, as well. Was it all just a plot to hook the two up? She covered her head with the hospital sheets.

"Callie," she heard.

"Just get out, Arizona."

She heard the door shut, then peeked her head out. But Arizona was still there. Apparently, Derek had left just then. She cursed under her breath. Arizona opened her mouth to say something.

"Shut up," Callie said.

The blonde said nothing but turned to leave, and this time she left the door wide open.

"Ugh."

###

Callie awoke to a number of hushed voices outside of her doorway. She briefly determined that they were, in fact, Derek's and Mark's voices. Now she'd catch them in the act. She listened intently to their conversation.

"I think there's something wrong with her," she heard Mark say.

"She's seeing someone, but there isn't anyone there," he continued.

Callie opened her mouth to say something, but was cut-off by Derek's response to Mark.

"I know, I heard her, too."

"She's totally serious about it," Mark continued.

"Are you sure?"

"Should we get a scan?" he asked.

"Maybe we should."

"Maybe we should consider psych," Derek started to say.

Callie's eyes widened. No, _no_, they _weren't_ joking, after all.

"No, _no._ We just need a scan first."

"There was nothing wrong, her head injuries weren't severe."

"Do it anyway," she heard him say.

She quickly covered her head with the hospital sheets, feigning sleep. She heard them scuffle into the room and pretended as though she was roused by the noise of them entering the room.

"Hey, how are you feeling, Callie?" Derek asked her.

Mark only watched her from behind him.

"Good. A little sleepy. This bed is so uncomfortable," Callie told them.

"Cal, we're going to take you for a sca-" Mark started to say.

"I can't believe you two fell for that joke!"

"Huh?"

They both watched as she feigned laughter, pointing at them accusingly.

"That was priceless. Since Mark thought I've been such a debbie downer lately, I thought maybe I'd play a little joke, so I made up a blonde doctor named Arizona. Bet you thought I was going crazy, huh?" Callie laughed.

Derek was speechless, but Mark only grinned at her.

"That was a pretty dumb joke, Cal," he laughed.

"We were actually worried," Derek said.

"Well, no need to be. It's your fault for thinking that I'm some lonely old maid, Mark."

"Sorry, Cal."

"Er… anyway," Derek cut in.

"Let's get those papers filled out so that we can get you started on physical therapy."

"Sounds great!" Callie exclaimed.

###

Callie watched Arizona, who again, only watched her from the window. They stared silently at each other, Callie overwhelmed with uncertainty.

"Come here," she told her.

Arizona obeyed and walked up to Callie, seating herself on the chair beside her bed. Callie reached out and touched her cheek, running her fingertips down to her jaw. She felt unbelievably smooth and soft against Callie's touch.

"I can feel you."

"You can," Arizona told her.

"You're dead."

"I'm dead," Arizona agreed.

"So why can I feel you?" Callie asked her, sitting up and putting her hands on either side of Arizona's cheeks. She looked into her bright blue eyes and watched as Arizona blinked. She moved her hands down to her neck and felt her pulse. She brought her hand under her nose and felt her breathing.

"_Why_ can I feel you?" Callie asked her.

"I don't know," Arizona answered.

Suddenly, Callie pulled back.

"You're not there…" she started to say.

Arizona moved closer to her, as if wanting her to acknowledge her. For so long, Callie had been rejecting her – rejecting the prospect of her – though Callie had tried to convince Mark and Derek that she was there, she wasn't. And now that Callie had finally realized that Arizona was, in fact, not there, she started to back away.

"Callie," she said.

"You're not there!" Callie exclaimed.

"But you see me, you _see _me."

"Because I'm crazy and no one else sees you! But you're not there."

"You see me, Callie."

"No, no.." Callie murmured, pushing Arizona's hands away, as she reached out to her. She looked at the blonde woman – she almost seemed desperate, desperate for Callie's acknowledgement. There was desperation and hurt in her bright blue eyes.

"Prove to me that you're real," Callie said.

Arizona only watched her.

"Prove it to me!"

Arizona leaned over her and reached down, swiftly moving her hands to grab her cheeks. Callie felt blonde hair tickle her face as Arizona lightly pressed her lips against hers. It was soft – her lips were so soft against Callie's and Callie instinctively pulled her in tighter, kissing her again. She let go of her as Arizona started to pull away, her hands still on either side of Callie's face.

"…Is that real enough for you?" she whispered.

Callie's breath caught in her throat as she looked at the blue eyes that were observing her own with such intensity.

"I-I think so…" Callie whispered back, almost pulling her in for another kiss.

Arizona pulled away from Callie and sat back down on the chair as Callie sat up on the bed again. She pushed her hair back and looked at Arizona – just taking her in. She was definitely there. She had felt her. She wasn't alive, she was dead. But there she was, breathing, blinking, watching – kissing her.

She was in her dreams too. Most recently – though Callie could not recall any of them aside from the dream she had about the crash.

The crash.

"Oh god," Callie gasped.

"What?" Arizona asked, as Callie looked at her with bewilderment.

"Oh god. Oh god, did I kill you? I was dreaming of you standing next to the car and now you're haunting me, oh god."

Arizona was baffled, she had not expected that response from Callie.

"Callie-"

"Now you're haunting me cause I ran you over, oh god, I killed you, didn't I?" Callie cried. Tears began to stream down her face as guilt overwhelmed her.

Oh god, she had killed the beautiful woman that sat next to her.

"Callie!"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Callie cried, covering her face with her hands.

Arizona sat on the bed and reached out, pulling Callie's hands from her face.

"Callie, Callie."

Callie shook her head, struggling to keep her hands steady.

"Callie, look at me."

Callie hesitated for a moment, though her incessant sobs had faltered by the woman's voice. She pulled her hands away and watched Arizona as she took her hands and held them in her own.

"I've been dead for a long time, Callie. You didn't kill me," she said, softly.

"Really?" she croaked.

"Really."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay…" Callie murmured, hesitantly.

Arizona smiled at her and Callie couldn't help but smile back, nodding her head gratefully as Arizona handed her a cup of water. Callie drank it and watched Arizona, who got up from the bed and sat down on the chair again.

"How did you die?"

"I just died, that's all."

"When?"

"A long time ago."

"Okay…"

They sat in silence – comfortable silence for once, as Callie absorbed the reality of her situation. Arizona was dead. She was dead. But Callie had not killed her. Yet after her accident, she had suddenly started to see the dead woman. However, Callie had not sustained any brain injury. So why was she seeing her now?

She looked up at Arizona, who was now leafing through a magazine that was sitting on the hospital table. She watched as the woman scrunched her face in confusion. She laughed under her breath, watching Arizona flip through the pages in, what seemed to her, disbelief.

"What's so shocking?"

"Huh?"

"The magazine."

"Oh, I don't really get it," Arizona told her, dismissing it.

She shut the magazine and tossed it back on the hospital table. Then she folded her hands on her lap and smiled at Callie – a wide, dimpled smile.

"So why did you come back?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you come back when I told you not to?"

"Because I felt your loneliness."

"You can read my mind?"

"No. I can't read your mind or anyone else's. But I can sense what people are feeling. Most of all, I can sense what you're feeling. Because you see me. And I can touch you. I can't touch anyone else, but I can touch _you_. And even when you don't want me near you, I can have a sense of what you're feeling. After you told me to go, I felt your loneliness after a while. And I came back. And your friend happened to be there."

"Oh…"

"S-so you knew I was lonely, then?" Callie asked, meekly.

"I felt it, yeah."

"O-oh."

"Was it because of me?" the blonde asked.

"Huh?"

"Were you lonely because I left?" Arizona asked.

"I was. I think I was."

Arizona smiled at her and stood up.

"Are you leaving?" Callie asked her.

"There's nowhere to go. I'll be back. I think you need the sleep."

"You'll come back?"

"I'll come back."

"When?"

"When you're awake."

"But-"

"I'll know when you're awake, Callie. Have a good rest," she told her.

Callie nodded and watched as Arizona again, departed through the door, shutting it gently behind her. She leaned back and closed her eyes – absorbing what had just happened.

_So… she's a ghost. _

Callie laughed. It all seemed so ridiculous. She'd been kissed by a ghost.

_But why did she exit through the door?_ Callie thought briefly, but it was a passing thought as she fell into what had finally been a deep, and much needed, sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

"So can you float?" Callie asked, effortlessly pushing herself up on the hospital bed as she saw that now familiar whisk of blonde hair glide across the room.

She had brought more lilies. And she had been carefully fixing them in the vase when countered with Callie's sudden inquiry. She turned around and blinked at her.

"Huh?"

"I mean, you're dead, right? So you can float," Callie explained, as though it had always been common knowledge, "Because ghosts float… right?"

Arizona blinked again and briefly thought about it before turning her attention again, to the vase. She fixed it so that it was aligned carefully with the ray of sunlight that beamed down through the window. She turned to Callie then, and walked over to her, crossing her arms in an almost inquiring pose. But it was different from another inquiry, for she seemed hesitant.

"I can float, yeah," she finally answered.

"Can I see?" Callie asked excitedly, still caught up in her own fascination with the dead woman. She'd been captivated before, simply because Arizona had initially presented herself as such an enigma, but now that Callie had discovered that Arizona was actually _dead_, she had wrapped her head around all the ridiculous things to be thought of when encountering the notion of a ghostly apparition. Certainly, they harbored distinctive qualities. Ghostly qualities. Like floating.

"Not now," Arizona refused.

"Why not?" Callie asked, disappointment apparent in her tone. She almost pouted.

"Because I don't want to freak you out," she replied, plainly.

To this, Callie laughed and said, "I don't think anything will freak me out at this point."

"Why? Because I'm dead?"

"That's right. Because you're dead."

Arizona only smiled, as if it were a joke – as though Callie had just been teasing, and then gently rested her hands on either of Callie's shoulders, slowly pushing her back onto the bed.

"I don't need the rest," Callie protested.

The hasty exchange to which Arizona was dead was now a common exchange between the two. At Arizona's refusal to answer Callie's questions, Callie would retort with a smug remark, implying that nothing about the dead woman could shock her, to which the blonde would only ask something like, _Is it because I'm dead? _to which Callie would then promptly reply in something that suggested _Yes_.

It was silly and unusual banter and they were strikingly aware that they both were avoiding questions and answers. The whole matter in itself was bizarre. Yet still, Callie did not want to know _why_ she was seeing Arizona. She didn't want to know why it was only her that saw the blonde apparition. She didn't feel as though she were crazy, nor did she feel her head injured in any which way.

It was probably because Arizona's presence was amazingly refreshing.

"No," Arizona said, "You need the rest."

"I don't. I'm going to physical therapy in 10 minutes and it's my first session. I should energize before going," Callie explained.

"I think you should save the energy before exerting yourself."

"I feel fine," Callie groaned.

"McDreamy will be here soon and you don't want him seeing you stare into space again."

"I don't do it often."

"I see you watching me. I feel when your eyes are on me," Arizona retorted.

"Well, why wouldn't you? Is that another ghostly quality? Do you know when I'm thinking about you?"

Arizona laughed. "Do you think about me often?" she inquired.

Callie grinned and replied, "I guess you don't know when I'm thinking about you, then."

"You didn't answer my question!" Arizona laughed.

Callie only laughed and tugged at Arizona's sleeve so that she would sit next to her on the chair beside her bed. Arizona acquiesced and sat down without a second thought, it seemed to Callie.

"Stay for a while, then."

"So you're not going to answer my question."

"I think about you. A lot. Isn't it obvious? You're dead."

At once, Arizona's expression fell. Callie noticed almost immediately the changes in her face – the altering of the glow in her eyes, almost gleaming before she quickly blinked and retained a certain calm that overcame not only her eyes, but her entire demeanor. Yet, she still seemed troubled. It was quick, but to Callie, that moment seemed distinctly different.

"Okay," Arizona murmured.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"What? Tell me," Callie coaxed.

"Well… I don't know, is that your only fascination about me?" Arizona murmured, almost hesitant. Her blue eyes seemed to glow in that moment – showing something like vulnerability, Callie thought now.

"Well," Callie started.

_Well, that and you're pretty, _she thought. But she was reluctant to let the words out of her mouth.

"I guess so."

At this, Arizona's shoulders seemed to slump in something resembling defeat. Callie's eyes widened at once. Though this woman was dead, though she was a ghost – she carried amazingly human qualities. She was sensitive. It was almost as if Callie had remarked that she'd liked her only for her looks and not her personality.

"You're interesting, too," Callie said, quickly.

"Huh?" Arizona blinked.

"I mean, you're interesting, too. Obviously. I wouldn't be- uh, well, you're interesting too, okay? Don't feel bad. I mean if you weren't dead-" Callie ranted confusedly, conscious of her prior words.

Arizona smiled, aware of Callie's attempt to reconcile, though she hadn't been upset at all.

"Okay. I get it."

Callie words faltered in her mouth – she only looked at the woman who smiled brightly back at her, and she heaved a heavy sigh.

"All right."

"So are you gonna sleep?" Arizona asked, changing the subject.

"No. How do you know about McDreamy?" Callie asked.

"Well, he is your doctor," Arizona answered.

"No, I mean… you knew his nickname. How do you know that?" Callie questioned, recalling that his nickname was no longer thrown around now that he had been in a relationship with Meredith. That nickname had aged.

"Well, I roam the halls, too. I know people and their names, sort of."

"You sound like an aimless apparition."

"I kind of am," Arizona replied, quietly. Her blue eyes were clouded once again – the troubled expression evident.

Callie suddenly felt the need to reach out to her and pull her closer. She was really the only one that could see her, she thought. How lonely that must be.

Callie reached an arm out, and wrapped her finger around a loose strand of blonde hair, gently running her fingertips over her cheek. She couldn't get over how alive this woman was. How could she be dead?

"I-" Callie started to say, but quickly pulled her hand away when she heard the door to her hospital room open up. She quickly averted her case to Derek, who now walked in, a nurse following quickly behind with a wheelchair.

"Callie. How are you feeling?"

"Great!" she exclaimed, quickly looking at Arizona, who only smiled and stood up.

"Ready?" Derek asked, gesturing to the wheelchair.

"Of course," she murmured, watching as Arizona slipped behind them and outside of the door.

But of course she wouldn't follow them, Callie thought, as Derek helped her into the chair.

###

Callie was breathing heavily. The physical strain on her body had felt good – her adrenaline was pumping and she thought that she could do much more than what her therapist had suggested. She felt as though she wasn't being pushed hard enough.

Her therapist insisted that she should be taken back to her room in order to properly rest herself – strain on her body would do no good amidst the long process of recovery. But it wasn't a "long" process, though he had insisted that it was. Because Callie felt great. She felt ecstatic. Even Derek was surprised about how quickly she'd recovered after the accident.

Though she had never been in a bad accident before, Callie also thought that it was peculiar – the way her body had recovered so quickly. She slept a lot, she knew that. And every time she opened her eyes, she would find Arizona standing there, absently staring outside of the window or at some blank space on the wall. She'd sense immediately that Callie was awake, yet her gaze would only slowly drift back to Callie and that wide, heart rendering smile would reach her lips just as slowly, and again, Callie would feel her body revitalized and awake almost immediately.

She huffed and sat down for a break. She wanted to get _out_ of the hospital already. She missed her apartment and her room and her comfortable bed.

"You're not supposed to be here," she heard.

Startled by that harmonious voice, she looked up and saw Arizona standing in front of the closed door.

"I didn't hear you come in," Callie huffed.

Arizona smiled.

"Well, I didn't exactly use the door."

"You scared the shit out of me."

"Well, you aren't supposed to be here. You're supposed to be resting," Arizona lectured.

Callie had sneaked into the physical therapy room once the lights had gone out. She knew her way around the hospital quite well and had been careful to avoid any wandering nurses. She knew what hour to sneak out of her room, as she'd been attentive to the time of their habitual visits and routine checks.

"I need to get better."

"You'll get better. You are better. Don't do this on the first day, Callie. It'd be fine to exert yourself maybe after a few sessions but-" Arizona started to lecture again.

"Why didn't you come?" Callie asked loudly, cutting her off.

"Huh?" Arizona asked.

"You just left. You didn't stay," Callie said, confused by the tone of her own voice. Why did she even want her to come?

"What do you mean?" Arizona asked, walking over to Callie, who still remained seated. She crouched down to her, as Callie had only kept her gaze on the floor. Arizona gently lifted her chin upwards to look at her.

"You just left when Derek came in. And you didn't come at all earlier during my session," Callie softly complained, watching as Arizona only blinked back at her – watching as her blue bright eyes softened.

"Do you," Callie continued, "do you not like being around the others? Everyone else who can't see you?" she asked.

Arizona smiled softly and said, "Well, no. I'd only be distracting you. I don't want to make you look crazy by watching me when to others, there's no one there at all."

"It's like you said before, Callie," Arizona continued, "I'm not there."

"But you're there to me. I see you," Callie retorted, as Arizona let go of her chin and stood on her feet once again.

"I know. But no one else does. How would we even communicate?" Arizona asked.

"We wouldn't have to…" Callie started to say.

"Callie?"

"You could just… just…" Callie murmured, her vision suddenly blurring.

"Callie!" Arizona exclaimed.

"You could just watch me…" she mumbled, before her vision went dark. Before she shut her eyes, though, she could feel soft arms wrapping around her, breaking her impending fall. She smelled something sweet – something like lilies. Refreshing to her lungs.

So refreshing, she thought.

###

The only feeling Callie was aware of before opening her eyes were the soft fingers trailing through her hair. When the tips of those fingers would touch her scalp, she felt the cool lingering sensation of them. She opened her eyes and looked to the side of her, watching as Arizona watched her with quiet eyes. She was leaning over on the bed, her face on Callie's pillow – one arm supporting the weight of her head, her mouth muffled by it. She could only see Arizona's eyes, and her outstretched arm as she reached her hand to Callie's hair.

Arizona lifted her head as Callie spoke. "Your fingertips are always cold."

"Yeah," Arizona said, nodding her head as she pulled her hand away. Callie reached her own hand out and grabbed Arizona's retreating one, running her thumb over her fingertips.

"Freezing, almost," Callie said.

"Uh-huh," Arizona murmured.

"That's not a human quality. Your whole body seems warm but your fingertips are freezing," Callie continued.

"Are you alright, Callie?" Arizona inquired, dismissing Callie's curious observation of her frozen fingertips.

"I pushed myself too hard, didn't I?" Callie asked.

"That's right, you fainted," Arizona explained, pulling her hand from Callie's grasp.

"I feel fine now, though," she murmured, "but now they're going to lecture me for fainting and-"

"No one knows," Arizona said.

"What?"

"No one knows," she repeated, "you'll be fine. Just don't do that next time."

"You brought me back here?" Callie asked.

"I did."

"How did you do that?" Callie inquired, imagining herself floating through the air in Arizona's arms. It was a silly thought.

"I put you in the wheelchair and I rolled you back to your room."

"Oh," Callie said, almost disappointed. "And no one noticed?"

"I made sure not to pass anyone. I can sense people from a distance."

"So if someone were to run into us as you were doing that, what would they see?" Callie inquired.

Arizona briefly thought about it and said, "They'd see a knocked out Calliope Torres being magically pushed in a wheelchair."

"So they would freak out," Callie responded.

"Yep."

"That's kind of hilarious," Callie said.

"The thought of it is indeed super hilarious," Arizona grinned.

Callie felt a little tired, but she pleased with how better she felt now that she was safely back in her room. Maybe she should just take it slow.

"You called me 'Calliope' again," she said.

"Sorry," Arizona apologized, "but you seem happy?"

"Huh?" Callie asked.

"You seem happy. I sense it coming from you."

"I am," Callie confessed, "I'm glad. I'm glad that you're here."

Arizona smiled softly at her and Callie suddenly felt the urge to hug her, to have this wonderful woman in her arms. She tugged on her sleeve and pulled her closer. Arizona fell into her arms and sank into the embrace as Callie wrapped her arms around her back. She felt blonde strands of hair tickle her face and inhaled Arizona's scent. She felt enveloped by the blonde.

"Thank you," Callie whispered into her ear.

She felt Arizona smile against her cheek as she wrapped her arms delicately around Callie's neck.

"I'll stay next time? If you want," Arizona said softly, the words murmured against Callie's cheek.

"What?"

"I won't leave unless you want me to. If I'm making you uncomfortable. But I'll come to your next session, you know, if you want?"

"I'd like that."

###

"Can't you leave the hospital?" Callie questioned, disrupting the quiet of the room. She'd been drifting in and out of sleep, simply basking in the comforting silence with Arizona, who had been sitting next to her since she'd fallen asleep with her arms wrapped around her.

When Callie awoke, she found Arizona thumbing through an old medical journal. Arizona closed the journal and put it on the hospital table. She seemed reluctant to speak, but seemed to have quickly changed her mind.

"I have… maybe once or twice… but I'm always drawn back. I can't go very far. I'm always pulled back," she confessed, thoughtful of the words she let slip.

"Pulled back?" Callie asked.

"I don't know, I just can't stand to leave this hospital. Something just makes me come back here."

"Do you see dead patients?"

"Dead patients?" Arizona asked.

"Lots of people have died here, don't you see them?" Callie asked her.

"I don't. I don't see them once they've died."

"Do patients ever see you?"

"No one has ever seen me aside from you, Calliope," Arizona said, eyeing her intently.

"Why me?" Callie asked.

Arizona hesitated. Callie could see the hesitation in her eyes, she looked away and murmured, "I don't know."

"Why me, Arizona?"

"I don't know, Callie."

"You're lying."

Arizona sighed and only looked at her, waiting for her to say something more. Callie felt herself frozen – as though Arizona had been waiting for her to interrogate her once again. She almost felt bad, the way she treated her. As if she deserved to know everything.

But wasn't it natural to want to know more about her?

"Would you…" Callie started to say, "would you still be drawn to me if I couldn't see you?" Callie asked. She felt as though it were a silly question. She was sure Arizona had been interested in others – no matter how long she'd been dead, it was a natural thing to be drawn to people, to interacting with people, so of course it was a silly question.

"I don't know," Arizona answered, honestly.

She watched as Callie's shoulders slumped and quickly retorted with a question of her own, "Would you still be drawn to me if I weren't dead?" Arizona asked.

Callie opened her mouth to say _Of course_ but the words seemed to catch in her throat as she looked at Arizona's bright, perusing eyes.

"I don't know," Callie said.

If it had been another time, certainly. Maybe under different circumstances.

"These are the circumstances now," Callie said, "so what does it matter?"

Arizona took in her words and her expression seemed to soften.

"You're right."

"We're here now," Callie continued.

"So who cares about the 'what ifs'?" Arizona inquired, interrupting her.

"Exactly."

###

Callie had been in for her next session. She'd been more pumped this time and she was sure that she no longer had the need to attend them, but it was required in order to be released. Her physical therapist remarked that she had shown wonderful progress and may need a few sessions here and there. But she'd be discharged and released in due time, and within a week or two, she'd be ready to start operating again.

She was ecstatic, working carefully – moreso because of the blue eyes that were watching her so intently. Her heart thumped hard, as she looked over and smiled at the blonde woman standing near the door. Arizona had only been watching her with a soft, kind smile and that alone seemed to energize Callie.

The session had gone much better than the previous one and though Callie insisted that she could push herself this time and _not _faint, Arizona assured her that she should take it in slow steps and so she listened. Though now she could walk around her hospital room.

Callie dug through her overnight bag that Mark had brought earlier, turning on her phone to look at the vast amount of messages she'd missed. She was absorbed in this now, sitting on the hospital bed with her legs stretched out in front of her. Arizona sat next to her, watching her as she stared at the mobile device, absorbed in whatever she'd been doing. Arizona looked out the window again, blankly staring at the room, waiting for Callie to be finished.

She seemed to be taking too long though, and Arizona couldn't help but let her curiosity known.

"I've been meaning to ask…" she started to say.

"Hm?" Callie murmured, her eyes still locked on her phone.

"What _is _that? So many people own them. What is it?" Arizona asked.

Callie looked up at her, wondering what Arizona was talking about, only to see the woman pointing to the mobile device in her hand.

"You mean my phone?" Callie asked. She was going to say it was the latest iPhone, but was startled by Arizona's following question.

"That's a phone!?" Arizona exclaimed, leaning in to get a better look.

"Yeah, it's a phone…" Callie said.

"_Wow_. That's super awesome. Can I see?" Arizona asked.

Callie nodded and shifted her position on the bed so Arizona could join her. She made sure the door to her room was shut before handing the device to the blonde apparition.

"Here you go."

Arizona only stared at the device in her hand, holding it as if it were a delicate bird. She poked at the screen, but nothing seemed to happen.

"Don't use your frozen fingertips. Here, press it like this," Callie explained, and Arizona followed, marveling at how it responded to the touch of her finger.

"How do you work it?" she asked.

"Um. Well, what do you want to do?"

"What do you mean?" Arizona asked, looking at Callie. Callie found herself admiring Arizona's curiosity – she was almost like a child with a new toy. Undeniably cute.

"Well, I mean – uh, phones generally do a lot of things. Do you want to listen to a song, do you want-"

"It can play music!?" Arizona gawked.

"Yeah," Callie smiled, "all of them can. Here, look."

Callie opened the application for her music and started to play a song. She put the volume at a decent level and watched as Arizona's face lit up.

"_Wow, _wow, no wonder people are always staring at these things," Arizona exclaimed, taking hold of the device again. Callie opened an application for a game, letting the music play in the background.

Callie showed her how to play the game, showing her that she only needed to glide her finger across the screen to gain points. The goal of the game was to slice as many things as one could before the timer was up. Arizona quickly caught the goal of the game and was enveloped at once.

Callie watched as Arizona scrunched her face, losing the first game – she was so absorbed, so interested in a simple game that Callie often saw people play with blank expressions, they used it as a catalyst to expel their own boredom. But Arizona had made it seem like the greatest thing in the world. She'd never seen something like that before. She had definitely never seen an iPhone before, either.

"What era are you from?" Callie asked, as the game Arizona was playing concluded.

"Huh?" Arizona asked, looking up at her.

"How could you have not seen a phone before?"

"I've seen phones before, Callie. Just not ones like these," she explained, lifting up the iPhone to show Callie.

"So you've seen landlines."

"What's that?"

"Like a phone with a cord."

"Huh?" Arizona asked, blinking.

"Like a phone… connected to your house which connects to poles outside, you know."

"Oh!" Arizona said, as if she had known all along and had just forgotten the word for it. The response had almost seemed artificial to Callie. "Right," she said, looking back down at the phone.

Arizona quickly started a new game and was again lost in it. Callie only watched her as she played, observing the woman and her change of expressions – wondering who she was and where she came from.

"Arizona?"

"Hmmmm?" Arizona asked, her gaze not faltering from the game.

"Seriously, when did you die?" Callie asked.

"I told you, a long time ago."

Callie sighed and leaned on her side to watch Arizona, who continued to sit up and play the game.

"You're really cute like that," Callie murmured.

"Uh-huh," Arizona replied – clearly the words had completely gone over her head.

###

Callie had finally finished her fifth session of physical therapy. Her therapist insisted that she had been doing great and was ready to be discharged. He told her that she had to come in for follow-up sessions, but it shouldn't be anything too tedious.

When he left the room, she grinned at Arizona, who only nodded her head approvingly, proud of Callie and the state of her recovery. She followed her back to her hospital room – but Arizona said nothing to Callie because Mark had been in there.

"Ready to go home, Cal!?" Mark asked, ecstatically. He had shouldered her overnight bag and was waiting for her to pull on her shoes. He was to accompany her home.

"Most definitely!" Callie exclaimed, grinning back at him.

"Let's go! I've got the day off and a load of movies and popcorn and unhealthy food waiting for us."

Callie smiled at her best friend and his kind gestures, nodding her head delightfully. She could see Arizona smiling at her from the window, her arms folded over her chest.

"But can you give me a few minutes? I want to do some stuff. I'll be quick. Meet you at the entrance, okay?" she asked.

"Sure," he told her, departing the room at once.

Callie shifted her gaze to Arizona, who now walked over to her.

"I feel… hm," Arizona started to say, "hesitation coming from you? Are you sad?" she asked, tilting her head inquiringly.

"A little. I'm grateful," Callie confessed.

"I feel that, too. Your gratitude. It's almost bittersweet, the feeling I'm getting from you right now."

"Well, yeah. You helped me recover. And now I can finally go home. I probably wouldn't have done so well if it weren't for you. So thank you, Arizona," Callie said, standing up in front of her.

"You're welcome," Arizona said, grinning.

Callie nodded her head and shifted backwards, grabbing her purse and looking back at Arizona.

"So…" she started to say.

"So."

"I guess I'll see you around the halls, then," Callie said, turning to leave.

"Yeah… see you…" Arizona smiled, shifting back to the window, leaning against it. As Callie turned her back to her, she shifted her gaze outside the window.

Callie turned to go now, but something made her stop. She stood at the entrance of the room, looking at Arizona who was now absently staring outside of the window, her arms folded again, and her back leaning against it. She didn't even seem to notice Callie, though she could often sense her so strongly. Callie found it strange.

That faraway look had troubled her, but then Arizona turned her gaze back to the door and smiled brightly at Callie, nodding her head.

Callie nodded back at her before shutting the door behind her.

But that faraway gaze of hers seemed to be etched into Callie's mind.

Callie was going home now. She'd get to go home and move on. But where would Arizona go?

What would she do? Where would she go? She was dead.

Callie turned around and opened the door to the room again, but when she looked at the window, Arizona wasn't there anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

Thinking about jumping to an M rating, would you all be up for that?

* * *

Callie laughed aloud at the silly antics on the television screen, leaning back comfortably on the couch, her legs stretched out on the coffee table in front of her. Her laughter was quickly followed by her best friend's, who'd been with her, it seemed, for the entirety of last night as well as the majority of the day.

"You know…" she started to say, glancing over to the man who sat next to her.

"Mm?" he grunted, his attention still fully on the television screen.

"I'm good now. You don't have to worry about me anymore," she said, "besides, isn't Lexie gonna be upset that you're spending so much time here?" she asked.

Mark looked over at Callie, the same grin he held from before plastered on his face. She'd been seeing that so often now and couldn't help but feel glee for the older man.

"She gets it. Besides, she's been busy scoring surgeries lately. We haven't had much alone time lately, it kinda sucks, but what can you do when you're two very busy doctors in love?" he explained.

"Love?" Callie gasped, her eyes widening at her best friend's proclamation.

Mark flushed and turned his attention back to the television screen, stuffing a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

"Yep," he said, though it came out as more of a grunt due to the food in his mouth.

"Wow! I never thought I'd see the day!" Callie exclaimed, patting him on the shoulder.

Mark swallowed the food in his mouth and glared at her, pushing her hand from off his shoulder.

"I loved Addison too, you know. And I love Lexie now, much more than I've ever loved anything in my life," Mark declared, "I am a man capable of love! Don't be so shocked!"

Callie laughed and leaned back on her side of the couch, eyeing the embarrassed older man.

"I'm happy for you, Mark," she said.

"Thanks," he grinned, looking back at her.

Callie glanced back at the television screen, then looked over at the clock. She had another appointment with her physical therapist soon.

"Now we just need to find you a pretty lady," Mark suddenly said, "so we can both be happy and in love!"

"I'm pretty content right now," Callie replied, sitting up on the couch, not meeting his gaze.

"You seem that way. Have you had your eye on someone lately?" he asked her, dusting scraps of popcorn from off of his lap.

Callie thought back to Arizona and the moment of her departure from the hospital room. It had been so quick, so sudden – she'd already reverted back to her normal life (though she wasn't operating yet) and couldn't help but think that the whole thing had been a dream. She'd grown so used to Arizona's presence during her stay at the hospital. She'd seen her every day, and every time she opened her eyes.

Arizona was there every time she opened her eyes.

But this morning when Callie had woken up, there had been no one there.

When Arizona vanished from that room, it was almost as if she'd completely vanished from Callie's life. It was only a moment. It had only been yesterday. But the whole thing felt as though it were a dream, as though it had been something that she'd made up in her head during her stay at the hospital in order to relinquish her loneliness and relentless boredom.

But everything had felt so very real.

And she couldn't help but recall that distant gaze of Arizona's as she stared outside of the window before vanishing.

"Cal?" Mark asked, interrupting her train of thoughts.

"Oh. Sorry. No, not really. I don't have my eye on anyone. I'm just glad to be home," she assured him.

###

Callie exhaled deeply and stretched her arms out in front of her.

"Damn, I feel good," she declared.

"You are good. You've done great, Doctor Torres," her therapist noted, scribbling in his chart before nodding at her.

Callie looked back at him, and then behind him – noting the vacant spot near to the door of the room. The door that Arizona always stood next to in her previous sessions. But she wasn't there anymore. Callie briefly wondered if she could will her to come, will her to be there and then she would appear – and even then, she knew subconsciously that that was what she wanted. But she couldn't will her there. If she could draw her there, she would be there already.

But she wasn't there. Even when Callie wanted her to be there.

Had Arizona just been a dream? Some wonderful, bewildering dream she had during her stay as a patient?

She turned her attention back to her therapist, who was still scribbling notes on his chart.

"So when can I go back to operating?" she inquired.

"In a few days. Remember, don't jump on the lengthy surgeries immediately. Take it slow. You're still a resident and-" her therapist explained.

"I know, I know," she interrupted.

"Good," he said, "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

###

She wasn't quite sure why she was standing in front of the hospital room that she had left only yesterday. The last image she saw of Arizona seemed to be etched into her mind as she left, and it only continued to flash through her mind consistently throughout the day. She thought it had only been natural to recall the woman – to have her thoughts overflow with her. She was a ghost. It was normal.

But for the moments that Callie had recounted her, she had been a real image. She was most certainly there in front of her – in her mind, in her touch. She was there. Callie had not thought _solely _of her as an apparition, though that was certainly part of what fascinated her about Arizona. Certainly, Arizona was dead – but in front of Callie, she'd only thought of how pretty she was, how intelligent, how mysterious. Breathtakingly stunning, almost.

It was bewildering, she thought, turning the knob of the door to the hospital room.

"Arizona?" she called out, gently pushing the door open.

Her gaze was immediately directed towards the window, but she was surprised to discover an unknown face by the window, staring back at her curiously. She looked over to the hospital bed at once, and saw an older man sleeping. Her voice did not rouse him out of sleep. The man by the window had stood up now and walked over to her.

"Excuse me?" he asked her.

"Um, uh—sorry, I was looking for someone. I thought this room was empty," she explained.

"My father was just transferred here, can I help you with something?" he asked her, looking her up and down, noting her confusion.

"I'm sorry, I just got the wrong room!"

Callie turned to leave, but before shutting the door, she noticed the empty vase that was still aligned perfectly with the sunlight beaming through the window.

It seemed the lilies had vanished, as well.

###

Callie cursed under her breath, digging through her purse and fumbling with her keys. How could she have been so silly, she thought. If Arizona wanted to come, she would have certainly came. Her desire had, after all, meant nothing.

Maybe she was a dream after all.

She thought so, she really had – she was almost resigned to the notion that Arizona had been nothing but a dream, but then she opened the door to her apartment and saw Arizona sitting there on her couch, eyeing the door cautiously.

"Why are you here?" she heard herself saying.

She didn't know why she even questioned it, the fact that Arizona was there now, in her apartment, sitting on her couch, fumbling with her lab coat. Callie had _wanted_ to see her. Arizona seemed nervous, her blue eyes bright – so strikingly bright. Why was she nervous? She acted as though she were in trouble.

"Well, you're the only one that can see me," Arizona replied, simply.

"I was looking for you earlier."

"I know."

"If you knew, why didn't you come!?" Callie asked, surprised by the tone of her voice. She felt like a fool.

"Because I thought that wasn't what you wanted. I know you wanted me there, but you seemed confused," she explained, "you still do."

"Of course I'm confused!" she exclaimed, "I don't get any of this!"

"I don't even know why I was looking for you." she continued.

"I know, I'm sorry. I don't get it, either."

Callie only watched her from the door, not even knowing what to say. So Arizona continued to speak.

"You confuse me too, Callie. I don't know why. I've never been this confused before, this… this, _struck_ before. I don't know what it is about you," she said, pulling intensely at her lab coat. She seemed incredibly nervous, Callie thought.

"But… I feel, I feel that you want me here, do you?" Arizona asked, "Do you, Callie? Do you want me here?"

"I guess… I don't know," Callie admitted, though she knew that a part of her did want her there, in her presence, in her life. But she was curious to know. "Can't you like visit other people or check up on someone else or something? Don't you have relatives or family or friends?"

Callie was undoubtedly glad that Arizona was there now, there in front of her. Yet, she hadn't come earlier. So where had she gone? Was she contemplating as well? She was clearly just as confused, just as bewildered by the idea of Callie as she was to her.

"I wanted to have fun," Arizona said, seemingly dismissing her questions.

"You didn't answer my question."

"I wanted to have fun with _you_," she corrected.

"Why me?" Callie asked.

"Because you acknowledge my existence."

"But you don't exist!" Callie fumed.

Arizona's shoulders flinched – it was almost as though she'd been struck. Her blue eyes widened, they almost seemed to glisten. Her shoulders slumped suddenly, and she looked down at the floor, averting her gaze entirely. She clasped her hands together and fumbled with her thumbs. Callie had struck a chord.

"I'm sorry," Callie told her.

She walked over to the couch now, and kneeled in front of Arizona, who still stared intently at the floor. She wasn't crying (could ghosts cry?) but her eyes were incredibly glossy. Callie saw that distant gaze again – that cloudy, glossy look in her blue eyes. That lost look. She clasped her cheeks so that Arizona would look at her.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Arizona met her eyes now – the distant look gone, yet she seemed incredibly vulnerable to Callie.

"Even ghosts get lonely, Callie."

Her eyes remained the same, glossy and vulnerable and Callie couldn't help but feel incredible sadness for what she had just said. Callie was the only one who saw her. Throughout the entire time she'd been dead, however long that was, Callie was the only one who acknowledged that she was there. She gently stroked her thumbs against her cheeks – they were warm and flushed, almost as if she had been crying.

"Right," she murmured, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Arizona."

Arizona smiled at her – a gentle, simple smile. A kind of sad, heartwarming smile that made Callie's heart thump. And now, Callie had noticed their close proximity. She was close, so close. She would only have to lean her body upwards to meet the other woman's lips.

But she resisted and drew back, now standing up in front of Arizona. Arizona followed her movements with her eyes and now looked up at her, almost disappointed that Callie had moved away.

"Besides, you seem glad now," she suddenly said.

"I, I do?" Callie asked.

"I sense it coming from you."

"Of course you do," Callie retorted – she sensed that, among other things, she thought. She briefly wondered if Arizona could feel her overwhelming desire. This thought made her back away, just a little more.

"Um… so," Callie started to say, "do you want a tour of the apartment?" she asked.

"I would love that."

Callie stood up and walked to the middle of the room.

"Well, this is the living room," she stated.

Arizona laughed, "I can see that. Modern and edgy, it's nice."

"Is it really?" Callie asked her.

"What?"

"You don't seem so enthralled by it."

"Well, modern's not really my thing," Arizona explained.

"Seems like it," Callie grinned, walking over to the kitchen.

"I do like it, though. Especially your kitchen. I could totally see myself living here."

"Well," Callie murmured, "stick around, then."

"What?" Arizona asked.

"Well, I don't know. I know the hospital is your trademark, but you're welcome if you want, you know, to visit me," Callie explained, feeling her cheeks grow hot. She really had gotten used to Arizona's presence. She almost felt as though she'd been asking the blonde apparition to move in.

"I think I will," Arizona smiled.

Callie walked over to her bedroom, opening the door and ushering Arizona inside.

"And this is my bedroom," she explained, her arm moving in an exaggerated motion, as though she'd been presenting it to an audience.

"It's lovely," Arizona told her, walking over to her bedside. She scanned the room and looked at Callie's framed photos and books that sat next to the lamp on her nightstand.

"Wow, you look really pretty," Arizona remarked, glossing her fingertips over a picture of Callie and her father.

"Thanks."

"Is this your father?"

"Yeah, that's my dad," she affirmed, watching as Arizona intently observed the picture, marveling over the resemblance of the two.

"He seems like a nice man," she said.

"He is. The greatest," Callie grinned.

Arizona looked at her and smiled, placing the photo back in its proper place. The two only stared at each other, and Callie suddenly felt very nervous, having Arizona in her room.

"I have to go shopping," she suddenly declared.

Arizona looked surprised at the sudden remark, her blue eyes widening in confusion, "Shopping?"

"I need groceries and there's no way that Cristina will buy anything for this apartment," she continued.

"Oh, you mean your roommate, right?"

"Yeah," she affirmed, "but you can't go very far, can you?"

"Huh?"

"Well, you came here because it's right across from the hospital, right?" Callie explained, "but you can't go that far away from it, can you?"

"I can, I think I can."

"I thought you said-"

"I'm always drawn back… but," she continued, "I'm more drawn to you. So I think I could follow you wherever you went, really."

Callie suddenly felt her body flushed, and was aware of the hard thumping in her chest. Maybe it was a really bad idea to bring this woman into her room so easily.

"What?" Arizona asked, "you seem embarrassed?"

"Uh, well, that was quite a declaration, you know," Callie murmured.

And for just a moment, it seemed to Callie that Arizona blushed, as well.

"Well, you're the only one that can see-" she started to say, as if justifying her previous remark.

"Yeah, I get it," Callie laughed, cutting her off.

###

"Should you really be driving?" Arizona asked, as Callie secured the buckle to her seatbelt and turned the engine to the car on.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's not snowy, I'm not dizzy. We'll be fine," she assured Arizona, setting off to drive at once.

"Is this your car?" Arizona inquired.

"No, no way!" Callie laughed. "My car was wrecked. This is Mark's car. Apparently he started renting the apartment across from mine, so he doesn't need to use his car often," she explained, shifting her gaze to Arizona momentarily.

"Mark," she murmured, "that guy? Your best friend, right?"

"That's right."

There was a strange silence and Callie looked over to Arizona as she stopped at a red light. She was met with Arizona's strikingly bright and curious eyes.

"What?" Callie asked.

"Just a friend?" she grinned.

"Just a friend. We've got a slight history, but there's nothing to it," Callie assured her, briefly jumping at the sound of a horn behind her.

"History, huh?" Arizona inquired.

"What's with that tone?" Callie coaxed, playfully.

"What about this Erica Hahn person?" Arizona asked, as Callie made a right turn into the parking lot of the supermarket.

"How do you know about that?" Callie asked, surprised.

"People talk in that hospital. A lot. I listen. Nothing else to do," Arizona explained, shrugging as Callie drifted into a parking spot, now stopping the car.

"She was… an ex, I guess."

"So…" Arizona started to say, as Callie moved to unbuckle her seatbelt.

"You like women, then?" she asked.

Callie briefly looked up at her, again, aware of the close proximity between the two of them. Arizona sat on the passenger's side, looking at Callie with her clear, inquiring eyes as the latter woman fumbled with her seatbelt. She finally clicked it open.

"Yes," she said, "I do."

Arizona only smiled at her as Callie opened the door to get out. She waited until Arizona came out from the driver's side and shut the door to the car.

"Can't you just go through the car?" Callie asked, "it's such a hassle to get out that way."

"I told you before, I don't want to freak you out."

"You're not going to freak me out, Arizona," Callie assured her, walking out of the parking lot and into the supermarket.

"Fine," Arizona said, as Callie pulled out a list of groceries. She took a shopping cart parked in the corner and began to scan the aisles.

Callie suddenly realized that she was surrounded by a number of people. She couldn't speak loudly, even if Arizona was right next to her. To others, it would resemble a mad woman simply speaking to herself.

"So," Callie murmured under her breath.

"Huh?" Arizona asked, moving closer to hear her better.

"So you're just going to have to read my expressions or else you'll make me look really crazy," she murmured, darting her eyes back and forth, making sure that no one was looking at her.

"Okay," Arizona laughed, suddenly aware of Callie's dilemma.

As the two walked down the aisles, a woman came in the opposite direction of Callie – in a normal setting, Arizona's presence would have obstructed her movements, and she would have to move aside for the woman. But since Arizona was dead, there should have been no need for that. Yet, in that moment, Arizona seemed to leap, and suddenly, was levitating in the air. She pulled her knees closer to her body and then proceeded to fold her legs together, with her feet tucked just under her thighs – resembling a sitting position.

"_Oh my god_, you really can float…" Callie murmured, exasperated.

Arizona only glanced over at her and grinned. She looked down at Callie and shrugged.

"Well, I hate to walk through people. They always get a sort of chill."

Callie wanted to ask how, but noted the vast amount of people walking down the aisles. She connected her headphones with a built-in microphone to her phone so that people would assume she was talking to someone on the phone. She stuck the buds in her ears – Arizona watching her, clearly not understanding just what she was doing.

"What do you mean?" Callie asked, under her breath.

"Hmm?" Arizona asked.

"Show me what you mean," she murmured.

Arizona nodded and landed on the ground again. As another woman walked down the aisle, she demonstrated by walking through the woman – Callie was baffled. How could a person that seemed so real just walk through another? She wasn't even transparent upon doing so. The woman briefly stopped in her tracks, shivering, but quickly shaking off the peculiar feeling.

"Oh man, that is _so _weird," Callie said.

"Yeah, I told you," Arizona explained, reverting to her strange seated position in mid-air, "so I'd rather float."

"God, that is _so_ weird," Callie repeated, looking up at her.

"Are you freaked out?" Arizona inquired.

"No, it's amazing," Callie laughed, pushing her shopping cart down the aisle as Arizona followed, floating just behind her shoulder.

"These look super delicious," Arizona pointed out, gesturing at some recently laid-out oranges.

"Can you eat?" Callie inquired.

"Hmm?"

"Do you eat?"

Arizona gave her a strange smile and then shook her head, "No, I don't. I don't need to eat or sleep."

"That sounds kind of amazing," Callie said.

"I guess. But you know, I sort of miss the sensation of a good dream or a delectable dish," she started to say, "it just… makes you feel human. Hunger. And dreams. But I am always day dreaming. I think I have a way of dreaming," she explained. Callie only watched her as she observantly stared at the oranges. Callie briefly saw that strange look in her eyes again.

"A way of dreaming?" she asked, eager to know more.

"A trance, I guess," Arizona said, "it doesn't happen very often."

"What do you mean, a trance?" Callie asked.

Their conversation was interrupted by a man who stopped his cart just next to Callie's. Arizona floated back to her position in the air and dismissed the thought.

"It's hard to explain."

###

Arizona went through the car this time and sat in the passenger's side as Callie placed the groceries in the trunk and sat back in the driver's seat.

"If you can go through walls and cars, how come you're not going through the seat?" Callie asked.

"If I wanted to, I could."

"Show me," Callie said.

"Do you really need proof?"

Callie started the engine again and laughed to herself.

"I guess not."

She set the car into drive again, but set out for another location, further from the apartment.

"Where are we going now?" Arizona inquired.

"I need to get some new sneakers."

During the drive, Callie often glanced back at Arizona, who observed the scenery from the window on her side of the car. She seemed enamored. She really hadn't been outside of the hospital, Callie thought. She wondered how different things appeared to be in Arizona's eyes. She wondered what Arizona saw the last time she was outside.

They made it to the shopping mall and into the shoe store, and even though it had been so late in the day, it seemed everyone from the city was suddenly packed into the mall. Callie supposed it was normal, since it was just around the time when many got off from their jobs, yet it bothered her a little – the fact that she couldn't actively interact with Arizona.

Callie sat in the store, trying on some sneakers. The store itself was relatively crowded so she was sure not to call out to Arizona. She often looked up to see where the woman had gone off to, but she wasn't too worried – for if Arizona floated, she could spot her immediately.

"Wow, _wow, _these are _so_ cool," Arizona exclaimed, drawing Callie's attention from across the room.

Callie quickly picked up her chosen shoes and put them in the box, hurrying over to the blonde apparition. She was surprised to see Arizona pointing at a pair of pink and white heelys.

"Look, they have wheels under them! They're like shoes," she explained, "with skates attached! And you can practically turn them on or off as you'd like!" she gawked, marveling over it.

"A lot of kids buy those," Callie murmured, clearly not impressed.

"They're so cool."

"You've never seen heelys?"

"That's what they're called?"

"Yeah."

"No, I've never seen them."

Callie stood next to her as she eyed them intently. She seemed so enamored, as if it had been something she'd desired for so long. Arizona suddenly landed on her feet and looked up at Callie, before pointing again at the shoes.

"Can I try them on?" Arizona asked her, like a child asking for a toy.

To this, Callie rolled her eyes and looked around. There were so many people around.

"Please?" Arizona asked, "_Please?_"

"Can't you come back when no one is around?" Callie murmured, envisioning products in the store moving on their own after dark. She could see Arizona leaving the place in a mess before disappearing at dawn.

"There are cameras."

"So?" Callie retorted, though Arizona had made a fair point.

"Come on, Callie!"

Callie grumbled and crouched down to grab the box that Arizona had been pointing at. She walked over to a seat with her and took the shoes out of the box, fumbling with laces for a moment. Noticing Callie, a store clerk walked over to assist her.

"Um, ma'am? We have larger sizes of those, if you'd like to see them," noting that Callie's size of shoes was a bit larger.

"Oh, no – uh, these are for a friend."

The store assistant only nodded and walked off and Callie paused and placed the shoes in her lap. She briefly thought about how the skates would look to a normal person. If Arizona put them on, would they vanish? Or would the shoes just be moving on their own? No, either way, Arizona definitely couldn't try them on here, out in the open.

"What?" Arizona asked, noticing the pause in Callie's actions.

"You do realize the dilemma here, don't you?" she murmured, under her breath.

Before Arizona could respond, another store employee walked by Callie. She called his attention at once.

"Do you have a fitting room?" she inquired.

The man briefly gave her a strange look and then Callie thought that it had indeed been a strange inquiry – this was a shoe store, there was no changing room. "No…" he murmured, and she only nodded her head before he walked off again.

"You see?" Callie murmured to Arizona.

"Oh," Arizona said, disappointed.

"Sorry, you can't try them on," Callie said, putting them back in the box.

Arizona's shoulders fell and she gazed longingly at the box, disappointment evident on her features. Callie groaned.

"Oh, fine!"

###

Arizona eagerly slipped her feet into her new pair of heelys, tying the laces – Callie could see the glee and excitement she was feeling as she showed her how the wheels popped out from under her feet. She maneuvered them so easily and glided across the room – making a little _snap_ each time she popped the wheels back.

Callie felt herself charmed. The woman was so ecstatic and happy, so pleased with her new gift. Callie laughed as Arizona lost her balance, breaking her fall by levitating. That was totally cheating.

"So would the heelys be visible while you weren't?" Callie suddenly asked her.

"What do you mean?" Arizona asked, gliding again across the room, though she kept her attention on Callie.

"Like, would a normal person see the shoes moving around on their own?"

Arizona showed no hesitation in her answer, though she briefly thought about it, "Yeah, probably."

"I thought so," Callie said.

"I don't pick up objects when people are around," Arizona told her.

"What about your clothes?"

"Huh?"

"Your clothes never change," Callie said, eyeing her up and down – noting the almost new looking scrubs and lab coat.

"They don't really need to," Arizona replied.

Her clothing was so kept – it wasn't as though the clothes could age and be worn out as clothes normally do when one wears them day to day – no, they weren't battered or ripped or even showing signs of age. They were flawless. Much like Arizona herself, Callie thought.

"You're always so flawless," Callie said, simply.

Arizona suddenly stopped, the wheels of her heelys making another _click_ sound. She looked over at Callie and seemed to be blushing. Her cheeks seemed flushed and Callie felt herself suddenly enamored. What an expressive ghost, she thought.

"My clothes change over time," Arizona suddenly said.

"Huh?" Callie asked, snapping out of her daze.

"If I desire it enough, my clothes change over time," Arizona explained.

"_When_ did you die?" Callie asked again.

To this, Arizona only sighed and turned her head, "I told you-"

"Fine, I won't ask anymore," Callie grumbled.

She stood up from the couch and went towards her bedroom.

"Callie—"

"It's fine, you clearly don't want to tell me," Callie said, not looking back at her. She heard Arizona follow after her and grab at her shoulder.

"It's just not important," Arizona murmured, softly.

"Why is it not important?" Callie snapped, turning to look at her.

"Because I'm already dead," Arizona said, again in a soft, sad, yet incredibly soothing voice, "so why does it matter?"

Callie's shoulders dropped and she looked at the woman standing in front of her. She recalled the fun, though peculiar day and the pleasant feeling she had just being with her. Arizona was right, why should it have matter? She was there now.

She briefly reached out and twirled a blonde strand of hair through her finger.

"So if your clothes change if your desire is strong enough," Callie asked, "will you suddenly have heelys on tomorrow?"

"Maybe," Arizona grinned.


	5. Chapter 5 - Part 1

Chapter 5 was meant to be longer, so I've split it into two parts, the next will come in due time, though I suppose the chapter number doesn't matter anyhow.

* * *

She dreamt of hazy blue eyes peering into her own. But it wasn't something that had felt familiar, though she'd often seen them before, for those blue eyes were exceptionally close to her own, closer than they had ever been. And slowly closing distance, those eyes were sensuously dark and glazed with desire, and they seemed to be amusingly taking in her own form. They burned with passion and ignited some kind of desire within her and then she suddenly felt herself immersed in those eyes, lost, immersed in a kind of touch – sensual, warm, soothing – and suddenly, everything became familiar.

She felt overwhelmed with the figure hovering before her, she felt herself a captive to sensation.

Then those eyes closed and their owner drew nearer, touching and grazing her lips against her own. They were incredibly soft and plump in just the right manner and then she felt a tongue gently grazing her lips, she felt hands sliding down her body – downwards, slowly downwards.

The fingertips of those hands were cold. And as they slipped into her, she felt herself overwhelmed with sensation.

The startling brightness of the room had roused Callie from her dream and urged her to turn on her side. She was aware that her alarm would alert her that she'd have to go to work soon, but the comforting warmth of her blankets kept her in place. She was overly conscious of the heat between her legs as she clenched her thighs together under the sheets. She was aware, also, of blue eyes peering at her – awaiting the opening of her own eyes.

"You're awake," she heard.

"_Mmugh_," Callie groaned in reply.

"You're awake, I know you are," the voice continued, "wake up!"

To the demand, she only lifted the sheet above her head, as though to shield her from the sunlight and that bright voice.

"Don't you sleep?" Callie groaned from under the blanket, her voice huskily laced with sleep.

"No, I told you already," she heard Arizona say, "I don't sleep."

Callie finally poked her head out from the sheets and was met with blue eyes – not as close as they seemed to be in her dream, but close enough, it seemed. Arizona was laying on her side next to Callie, eyeing her curiously.

She briefly wondered if Arizona had felt her desire, she wondered if Arizona could see her dreams. Or only if she could sense it. She recalled their previous encounter, in which she had told Arizona she'd been dreaming of her, to which Arizona had simply replied that she knew. There was no doubt that the blonde apparition could sense Callie's feelings. There was a hint of amusement in Arizona's bright eyes, and Callie couldn't help but wonder if she'd known exactly what she was dreaming of.

The figure in the dream was of course, Arizona. Callie knew it from those eyes and from that cold, soothing touch. She knew it.

Of course, it shouldn't have meant anything. She'd often have weird sexual dreams about her friends or people she knew. Quite often. And they were certainly preposterous, but nothing to be alarmed about and nothing to distinctly recall. She hadn't woken up in a flurry of lust, either. And yet, she'd never had a dream of such intensity as she did when she dreamt of the woman in front of her. Maybe it was because she was otherworldly and strikingly different.

"So, what did you do all night?" Callie asked. "Watch me sleep?"

Arizona blinked at her and finally sat up on the bed, pushing blonde locks of hair back from her forehead.

"No," Arizona said. "Well, for a little while. But then I just ended up reading your books."

To this, Callie sat up as well – suddenly, very alarmed.

"You, you went through my stuff?" she asked.

"No, no! I read the books on your nightstand."

"O-Oh," Callie said, relieved.

"Why?" Arizona asked her.

"No reason," Callie murmured.

"Are you hiding something dirty?" Arizona grinned.

"No!" Callie exclaimed.

She was wary of having Arizona spend the night when she'd found out that the ghost did not sleep. Not to say she was suspicious of Arizona, she just would have preferred to introduce her to things on her own time. Callie had determined that Arizona was clearly not versed in modern-day things or objects, she was quite technologically illiterate, in fact. She didn't want a blender or microwave to explode while she'd been sleeping. She certainly didn't want things moving around in her living room when her roommate was around.

"That reaction makes me think otherwise."

"Forget it, it's not that. I have nothing dirty to hide!" Callie announced proudly, kicking the sheets off from her legs.

Arizona followed in suit and stood up from the bed. Callie clicked off her alarm and quickly scrambled around her room, gathering some clothes for her day.

"Therapy today?" Arizona inquired, curiously watching as Callie dug through her closet.

"Yep. My therapist says I'll be ready to operate in a few days, but I'm totally going to prove him wrong and jump right back on the surgeries today. Everyone's pretty confident in my abilities, so it should be no problem," she explained, hurrying off to the bathroom.

Though she'd shut the door behind her, she was surprised to see Arizona behind her, following her right into the bathroom. Callie turned to look at her, a bewildered expression on her face.

"What?" Arizona asked.

"What do you mean _what_? Are you gonna watch me shower?" Callie asked her.

"Oh… no, that wasn't my intention," Arizona said, her cheeks turning red. Callie smiled at her reaction, she seemed strangely formal when it suddenly came to Callie questioning her suggestive flirtation.

"Well, then what?" Callie asked her, walking over to the sink. She pulled out her toothbrush and turned on the faucet.

"Um, well… I don't know, what should I do?" Arizona asked her, following Callie behind the sink as she began to scrub her teeth.

Callie bowed her head briefly to spit, and began to speak as she lifted her head to look into the mirror.

"What do you mean, what do should you-" she started to say, but was silenced by the reflection of the mirror in front of her. Rather, she seemed to be silenced by the _lack_ of reflection in the mirror. She only stared at her own gaping face. Alarmed, she quickly turned around.

Startled by Callie's quick movement, Arizona backed away with wide eyes, watching the bewildered woman who only watched her in amazement. Callie quickly turned back to look at the mirror again, and then back at Arizona, who had finally realized what Callie had.

"That's right," she said. "I don't have a reflection."

"Right," Callie said, lowering her gaze. She turned back to the mirror and stared at the reflection of the vacant space where Arizona should have been standing.

"Because you're dead."

"Right," Arizona said.

"Um," Callie said. "You can just wait for me in my bedroom. I'm going to shower. I'll be quick. Or you can wander around, but don't touch anything because I think Cristina is still home," she explained, bowing her head to scrub her teeth again.

"Okay," she heard behind her.

Callie spat in the sink again and then looked up at the mirror. She turned around again and found that Arizona had gone from the bathroom. She turned herself back to the mirror and looked at the vacant space where Arizona had just been standing behind her. The mirror had depicted nothing of the sort, the mirror had said otherwise. The mirror had that vacant space all along.

The mirror dictated that Arizona was never standing there.

"That's right," Callie said. "She's not there."

###

Callie opened the door of her bedroom and was met with the sight of Arizona standing next to Cristina who had been sitting on the couch, reading. The former was staring in awe at the television screen, which seemed to be playing a commercial advertisement for the iPhone. Cristina was immersed in whatever book she'd been reading, failing to notice as Callie strolled into the kitchen.

"You're not gonna greet your roommate who's been away for so long?" Callie asked, startling Cristina from her silent indulgence.

"Huh, what?" her roommate asked from the couch, looking at her. Arizona turned her attention to the two and peered at Callie – the latter quickly meeting her gaze. She quickly looked back at Cristina, who blankly stared back at her.

"What?" Cristina asked.

"Where's my welcome home?" Callie retorted.

"Welcome home!" Arizona exclaimed.

Callie rolled her eyes, both at Arizona and Cristina's continued blank expression.

"Oh, I thought you were home for a while now."

"No, I just got home two days ago."

"That's nice," she murmured, turning her attention back to the book in front of her. "Are you back in the OR?"

"Not yet, but-"

"Oh," Cristina said, finishing the conversation.

Callie rolled her eyes and turned around to gather cooking utensils from the cupboard. She pulled out a frying pan and set it on the stove. Arizona quickly moved next to her and observed what she was doing. Callie only eyed her curiously.

"What?" Arizona asked, noticing her stare. "I haven't seen anyone cook in a long time, okay?"

Callie only smiled and nodded, pulling ingredients from the fridge as Arizona followed her around.

"Your roommate is pretty rude, by the way," she noted, gesturing to Cristina, who still sat immobile and reading.

Callie chuckled lightly at her remark and nodded her head, beginning to fry eggs in the pan. She heard Arizona scuffle around her, observing all of the utensils in the kitchen and the open cupboard, as if to take it all in. But with such excitement.

"You're like a dog sometimes, I swear," Callie declared.

"What?" she heard Cristina say. Arizona blinked at Callie, aware that the remark was directed towards her, but turned her attention to Cristina, who was now looking back at Callie.

"Ah, um," Callie stuttered. "Well, you don't expect me to provide food for you all the time, do you?" she quickly asked, internally applauding herself for the seemingly random remark (though it was really just a slip).

"I mean, I buy _all_ the groceries and-" Callie continued.

"I thought it was our unspoken agreement that you'd always provide the food. It's been years, that hasn't changed," Cristina protested, shutting the book and standing up. She walked over the window and tossed the book in a cardboard box that was filled with a number of books that looked the same.

"What are you reading?" Callie asked. "Some medical journals? Those boxes are in the way."

"I know, I know," Cristina said, walking to the kitchen as Callie laid out eggs on a plate for her. Grabbing a fork, she sat down and started to eat.

"By the way, your rent is way overdue."

Callie groaned and placed food on her own plate, taking a seat, as well. Bored, Arizona quickly made her way to the living room and stared at the television again.

"I paid your half this month, don't worry. Consider me an amazing roommate," Cristina told her.

"Of course," Callie said, rolling her eyes for emphasis.

She looked over to Arizona, who already seemed bored of the television channel she'd been watching. The weather channel will do that to you, she thought.

"So are you operating again?" Cristina asked.

"Not yet. I should be back in the OR at noon," Callie declared, grinning at her personal determination.

Callie turned her attention back to the window, where Cristina had a number of boxes and loose pieces of clothing laying around.

"You need to move that stuff into your own room."

"I will."

"What medical journals are you reading? So much that you seem to be losing sleep over them?" Callie asked, noting the fatigue in the other woman's face.

"I lose sleep regardless. Those are Ellis Grey's journals. Mer doesn't want to read them, but god, that damned woman is a genius," Cristina explained, the glee in her tone evident as she spoke.

"That's good," Callie said, suddenly intimidated by her roommate. Since Arizona showed up, she really hadn't been concentrating at all on medicine or research. She hadn't touched a medical journal for a while, actually. She'd always done that in the past, but suddenly, this woman put a stop to everything. She didn't make Callie stop, it wasn't her fault. Callie suddenly thought that she had to get her priorities straight.

The two quickly finished their meal and placed their dishes in the sink. Cristina turned to go to her room, but her attention was quickly caught by the television suddenly changing channels.

"What the hell?" Cristina grumbled. "I was listening to that," she said, hurrying over to the television. She slapped the cable box only lightly and frowned, then turning the television off. Arizona groaned in frustration. Now she couldn't turn it back on.

Cristina hurried into her room and Callie turned her attention to Arizona, who now looked at her from beside the television screen. She narrowed her eyes.

"What?" Arizona asked. "The weather channel is boring."

Callie opened her mouth to say something, but quickly stopped herself as Cristina rushed out of her room and past her, murmuring a _See you later_ before heading out of the apartment. Callie made certain that Cristina had gone before completely turning her attention to Arizona. She walked over to where she stood in the living room.

"You could have changed it when she left," Callie grumbled.

"Well, she didn't take much notice, anyway," Arizona said, simply.

"Uh-huh," Callie murmured, watching as the blonde innocently grinned back at her.

The whole morning had been a rush and suddenly, there was a sense of calm and ease amidst the two. Yet, they only stared at each other. Callie suddenly began to recall her dream and felt her heart begin to thump. She backed away in order to gather her jacket and purse.

"I'm like a dog?" Arizona suddenly said, breaking the silence as Callie pulled her jacket over her body.

"Okay, not a dog. That's not what I meant."

Arizona arched an eyebrow at her and Callie only blinked in response, now pulling on her shoes.

"You're energetic like a dog. Like a dog, or a child, you know. Like a super excited kid. You're super excited about stuff, I like that."

"So you think I'm like a kid, then…"

"No, of course not. I just meant-"

"It's okay, Callie," Arizona replied coolly. "I'm flattered."

"Are, are you?" Callie murmured, opening the door to the apartment. But she didn't leave yet, she just kept her hand on the door knob and stood, looking at Arizona. She saw that familiar hint of amusement in her eyes again and suddenly, her heart began to thump wildly.

She knew.

"Yes, "Arizona affirmed. "Especially flattered about your dream this morning, too."

Callie suddenly felt her body heated, she could feel the rush of blood in her head. She knew. She knew about the dream, she thought. She stood and watched Arizona in silence, who only smiled brightly at her.

"I, uh," she started to say.

"I'll see you at the hospital," Arizona said, slipping through the door and out of sight.

###

Callie felt a great urge to applaud herself. She'd done exceptionally well in convincing her therapist that she should be able to operate. Though he had initially told her "in a few days", she'd known that those words simply entailed safety measures. Every doctor knew the true meaning of those words.

And so Callie delightfully strolled out of his office and into the hospital hallway, making her way to the Residents' lounge to change. Arizona hadn't been there to see her convince him, but she was sure the woman was aware, she was sure the cheerful ghost could sense her joy and pride in finally being able to return.

So she wasn't surprised to see Arizona skating down the hallway on her heelys, coming towards her with a bright smile on her face. She was surprised for a moment, because Arizona had just gotten the heelys yesterday, but then she turned her attention to others walking down the hall and quickly noted that they took no notice of the blonde's rollerskate shoes. It seemed she manifested the heelys overnight, Callie thought.

She smiled at Arizona and then quickly turned to enter the Residents' Lounge. Shutting the door behind her, she was relieved to find the place desolate. She turned around as Arizona came through the door, that same smile on her face.

"So I guess it went well, then?" Arizona inquired.

"Yep!" Callie exclaimed, now turning her attention to the woman's shoes. "Those are?"

"These are my heelys, ghost version," Arizona explained, kicking each foot for dramatic effect.

"They look exactly the same!"

"Of course they do."

"You could have gone for a cooler look," Callie insisted. "Why go for plain pink and white?"

"Because I like those colors," Arizona replied. For a moment, she seemed to hesitate in her response, but then quickly added, "And this is the color you gave to me. So, of course I'd keep it. If it's from you."

Callie felt her heart begin to race again and only smiled in response at Arizona's explanation. She turned around and found her locker, sitting down on the bench in front of it. She then began to unlace her shoes.

"You know," she started. "You know, I've only done so well because of you."

"Because of me?" she heard Arizona ask. She felt the woman draw closer to her as she took her shoes off and stood up to unbuckle her belt.

"Yeah," Callie said, honestly. "I don't think I would have been that motivated or that happy, without you. I, I think it's because you were there that I, uh, that I was able to put myself back together."

Callie slipped off her pants as she explained her thoughts to Arizona, who's gaze, she felt, seemed to burn right through her. She felt her body grow hot when thinking of Arizona's bright blue eyes peering at her exposed form. She quickly slipped on her scrub pants.

"How?" Arizona asked.

"It must be," Callie started to say, taking off her shirt. She turned around to look at Arizona, who's gaze quickly fell to her bra-clad chest and then back to her face. She watched the blonde apparition's cheeks grow red at being caught. "It must be your joy," Callie said.

To this, Arizona's eyes widened and she seemed to be momentarily rendered speechless. Callie slipped on her scrub shirt now and smiled softly at the confused ghost, who only looked at her with an expression of surprise and joy.

"My joy?" Arizona asked. "I don't think I've been all too happy to-"

"Your genuine joy for things," Callie interrupted. "When you smile, you seem utterly happy. And that makes me feel happy, too. And you care so much, so much that I'm speechless. Maybe it's because I'm the only one who can see you or whatever, but I couldn't care about that. I'm just glad you care. I'm glad you cared enough to be there even when I was rude."

Arizona only stared at Callie, her eyes softening and glowing. She seemed genuinely surprised at Callie's response. Callie bent down to slip on her shoes and then looked back up at Arizona.

"So I'm grateful for that," Callie said. "I'm grateful for you," she said. "I'm grateful _to_ you, but I'm also grateful _for_ you," she corrected.

Arizona smiled softly at Callie, her eyes glazed over as though moved by her speech. She nodded her head and murmured, "Thank you, Callie."

"But I just thanked you!" Callie laughed.

"It means a lot to me, you have no idea," Arizona continued.

"Really?"

"Really," Arizona said. "I thought I couldn't exist for anyone. I'm glad that I can exist for you."


	6. Chapter 5 - Part 2

Callie still felt her heart fluttering as she left the Residents' lounge. She figured that it had to be something like that. It was as though her stomach was filled with butterflies – she felt incredibly light. It was almost as if her heart was leaping inside of her chest. Callie wasn't one for clichés but she had no idea how to describe to herself the way she felt. She thought that maybe she had to get over the butterflies.

She didn't know what else it was. Maybe it was the way Arizona had smiled for her – the way she said _I'm glad I can exist for you _– because she had no one else to exist for. She existed to no one else. Upon that realization, Callie's heart seemed to fall. It felt like a dropping sensation, all at once. She wondered how lonely that must be – to be among a crowd, to walk down the halls without another person even looking your way. Without anyone acknowledging your presence at all.

While making her way to the nurses' station, she had the thought that if others could see Arizona, perhaps their own lives would brighten the way hers suddenly had. She could brighten anyone's day, Callie thought. If Arizona was there, Callie knew that people would love her. Just as she did.

Well, maybe not _love_, Callie thought, correcting herself. But admire. Yes, _admire _– Callie thought. Maybe if Arizona was there to others, Callie wouldn't be so enamored. She felt that it was strange to be so infatuated.

But what did it matter? When Arizona smiled at her like that, with her eyes so bright and her smile so wide and with her gentle nod and soft voice, what did it matter? Who wouldn't be a little infatuated?

She was enamored, she thought.

Callie walked to the nurses' station and grabbed her chart for the day. She glanced over at the daily surgery board, noting that she was not listed among the surgeons performing today. It looked as though Webber had not been informed, Callie thought briefly.

"Cal, you're back!" she heard behind her.

She turned around to greet her best friend, who stood behind her, grinning widely.

"Yeah!" she exclaimed. "I noticed they haven't put my name on the board, though."

"I don't think Webber knows you've been checked off for surgery yet," Mark explained.

"Guess I'll have to clarify it for him, then."

"He's been busy," Mark said.

Mark's attention was immediately diverted by Lexie Grey strolling down the hall. As she met his eyes, she smiled brightly. She hadn't made her way over to the nurses' station to join them; rather, she quickly made her way into an on-call room, indicating something to him.

Callie only arched her eyebrows in amusement, watching as Mark turned back to her with a sly grin.

"So I guess things are going great again, huh?" Callie asked, bemused.

"Well, yeah," he said. "Only got time during the breaks, you know? Downtime."

"So when are you going to move in together?" Callie inquired.

Mark's eyes widened, as if he hadn't considered that – and he seemed to fall into his own train of thought, scratching his chin lightly. Callie looked behind him to see Arizona trailing down the hall in her heelys. She came to a halt right behind Mark, who hadn't seemed to notice Callie's huge grin.

"That's… complicated," Mark said, finally.

"Huh?" Callie asked, turning her attention to Mark once more.

"Well…" Mark murmured, and quickly looked behind him, startling Arizona with his quick movement. He then looked around and grabbed Callie by the shoulders, whispering into her ear.

"Oh man, I've got a lot to tell you," he murmured.

"Okay…?" Callie said, and then he let go of her shoulders and winked before hurrying down the hall and into the on-call room that Lexie had entered only moments ago.

Callie watched his departing figure and then turned her attention to Arizona, who only watched her with curious eyes. Her gaze seemed questioning to Callie, who only watched her back. She looked over at the surgical board again and back at Arizona, waiting for her to say something. She couldn't say anything without looking outrageous, and so, she began to walk down the hall, in the direction of Webber's office.

Arizona quickly followed behind her. She almost struggled to keep up because of Callie's fast pace – though Callie had only been eager to get back to surgery, she thought that she was worrying the ghost because of her haste. She must have been giving the wrong impression, she thought briefly.

"What was that?" Arizona inquired.

"Hmm?" Callie murmured, surprisingly annoyed at all of the people around her. She couldn't speak loudly to Arizona because there were so many doctors and nurses among other employees strolling the halls.

"Did he tell you something private?" Arizona asked. "Why was he whispering in your ear?" she asked again, almost innocently.

Callie quickly turned her attention to Arizona, who had been pacing just behind her, struggling to keep up, which was strange because she could have floated if she wanted to. Arizona had a strange look on her face – she seemed innocent – unknowing, but also incredibly curious, probably because she'd known nothing of Mark aside from the previous trysts with him that Callie had involved herself with. She seemed cautious and worried, all at once. Callie wondered if she was jealous.

"What?" Callie murmured. "I don't know, it was nothing," she said, under her breath.

"But you looked surprised."

"Because it was weird," Callie insisted. She hadn't been keeping up with the news of Mark's new relationship with Lexie, so she knew virtually nothing of what had happened during the course of a few days. Mark hadn't told her much, but he seemed incredibly infatuated, which was surprising to Callie, who'd never seen him like that before.

"Okay…" Arizona murmured, continuing to walk behind Callie, who now slowed her pace. They reached Webber's office and Callie lightly knocked on the door before turning her attention to Arizona, who still watched her with that strange expression.

"Why?" Callie asked. "Are you jealous? You seem jealous," she joked.

"I am," Arizona murmured. "A little."

Callie watched as Arizona's expression changed – she couldn't quite read it, but Arizona now looked slightly embarrassed, yet incredibly confident. As if she was just about to declare something. She opened her mouth to say something, but was quickly interrupted by Webber's opening of the door. Callie turned her attention to Webber, who looked almost surprised to see her.

"Torres!" he remarked. "What a surprise."

He turned around to let her into the office and Arizona followed behind. He then shut the door and looked at Callie, who didn't seem to know where to sit. He walked over to his desk and sat on his seat, gesturing for her to sit in the seat across from his desk. She promptly sat and Arizona walked over and stood next to her, almost stiff in her stance. She seemed tense, which was strange to Callie, but she did not keep her gaze on Arizona. She turned her attention to Webber at once.

"What can I do for you?" he asked. "You've recovered nicely, I see."

"Yes, well," Callie started to say. Her words faltered because of Arizona's sudden movement, she nonchalantly walked over to Webber and began to observe him up close. Callie grew tense, it seemed awkward to look at Webber, who only watched her curiously, waiting for a response while Arizona stood next to him, staring him down intently. Except Arizona did not seem amused or interested, it seemed as though she were observing him – scaling him down, measuring his character. It was strange, Callie thought.

"Torres?" Webber asked.

"Oh, yes. Sorry, uh," she continued, noticing as Arizona turned her attention to a number of photographs on his desk, facing his side. Callie couldn't see them – she only saw Arizona stare at the pictures intently. This woman was so strange at times, Callie thought. Had she really not seen Webber or his office before? She'd been in the hospital for so long.

"I was cleared for surgery today, sir. This morning," she explained. "But my name isn't on the board, I was wondering if you could assign some to me and inform the rest of the surgical staff, or whoever needs to know, anyway," she said.

Webber seemed surprised that she hadn't been assigned to anything and quickly made a note of it in his files. He flipped through his papers and Callie only stayed quiet, watching as Arizona peered over his shoulder, observing every action he took. It was unnerving for Callie, because Arizona seemed so real to her, yet she was not present to anyone else, especially the man in front of her, who noticed nothing awry.

Arizona finally caught her gaze, and for a moment, she almost seemed surprised to see Callie still sitting there – as if Callie hadn't been there at all. Arizona had been so caught in her observance of Webber and his surroundings that she forgot that Callie came in there with a goal. She suddenly smiled brightly at Callie and gave her a thumbs-up, then quickly made her way back next to her, peering at Webber now, from across the desk on Callie's side.

"All done. I've made a note of it," he told her, picking up his papers. "I'll have everyone informed at once," he said again, standing up from his desk.

Callie quickly stood up as well but stopped upon noticing Arizona's pose stiffen once again. She hastily moved aside for Webber as he made his way to the door of the office, as though he could run into her. She hadn't seemed intimidated by anyone else's presence, but she seemed to be almost shaken by Webber's.

The three exited the office and Webber nodded once again at Callie, seemingly proud of her.

"Well done, Torres," Webber told her. "Good to have you back."

"Thank you, Chief," Callie grinned, as he turned around and made his way down the hall.

As he was departing, Callie turned her attention to Arizona, who was watching Webber walk away.

"Can you not do that next time?" she asked. "It's so distracting."

But Arizona said nothing. Callie watched as she stared intensely at Richard's departing figure, her gaze almost distant.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," Arizona murmured. But then she caught Callie's stare and noticed her look of disbelief. "Authority figures have always scared me to the point of tears," she admitted.

Callie suddenly felt her heart leap again and grinned at Arizona's revelation of her secret fear. It almost seemed hilarious, because she seemed like an authority figure herself. Her strange behavior suddenly made sense to Callie, who recalled her stiffening pose when Webber got close to her.

"You're so damn cute," Callie declared.

###

"I've never worked with something like this before," Callie declared, noting the strange results on the scans. She stared intently at them, as did Richard Webber, the accompanying surgeon on the case. Callie scratched her chin and glanced over to the man next to her. He had really put trust into her on her first day back, she thought. He seemed overly confident in her abilities, perhaps because of the startling confidence she had been emitting the entire day. Callie couldn't help but think that she'd been put to the test by the chief. She was slightly intimidated by his suggestion that Callie should take the role as main surgeon on the case. He had come to her earlier, when she'd been staring at the boards, distraught by the fact that the board did not bear her name, and then he promptly erased his own name under the case that her eyes had been locked on and wrote hers. She only looked at him in disbelief as he smiled proudly and nodded his head. He had full faith in her abilities and now she was being put to the test.

So Callie was incredibly nervous.

She also felt Arizona's looming presence behind her shoulder, she could almost feel her delicate breathing tickle her ear. Arizona also seemed to be observing the scans just as thoroughly as the two.

"This is going to be a very complicated procedure," Webber insisted, pointing to a certain area in the scan which left them both bewildered.

"And extremely risky," Callie added.

"I've seen this before," Callie heard behind her. Arizona had been floating just behind her shoulder, intently observing the scans. She'd broken her silence just as Callie and Richard started to discuss the proper route to starting surgery.

Callie quickly glanced at Arizona, acknowledging her comment. She then looked over to Richard, who had been observing her with an intensity that made her nervous. She was definitely being put to the test.

"Well, Torres," he started. "This is your chance to show me what you've got."

Callie only nodded her head, quickly glancing at the floor before meeting his eyes.

"But sir, lead surgeon?" she asked.

"I have faith in you, Torres," he insisted. "I know you've done one of these in the past."

"Yes, but as an accompanying surgeon. And besides, that was by chance that we managed what we did. We salvaged. I don't think-" Callie explained.

"Nonsense. You'll do fine," he said. "And I'll be right by your side."

He promptly nodded at her and patted her on the shoulder before making his way out of the room. Callie only stood in silence as the door shut. She turned to watch Arizona who seemed to still be observing the scans.

"Where have you seen it?" Callie asked.

"In a journal," Arizona answered.

"That doesn't help me much," Callie groaned, running her fingers through her hair.

"You'll be fine, you've got the chief by your side," Arizona reassured her. She promptly landed her feet on the floor and turned over to look at Callie.

"And me."

"What?" Callie asked.

"I'll be by your side, too."

###

She sat in between two shelves in the medical library, piles of books stacked neatly on either side of her. She leaned back on the shelf behind her and ran her fingers through her hair. It was a gesture that indicated a stressful situation. She was very distressed. She had the thought that maybe she should get more coffee, but she'd been so deep into what she had been doing that it would probably just throw her off completely.

"God dammit," she murmured.

"It's okay," she heard in front of her. She looked to the direction of that soft reassuring voice and observed the blonde who sat across from her with her knees pulled to her chest.

"Easy for you to say," Callie retorted. "Can't you help me?"

"Do you _want_ people to see floating books?" Arizona questioned.

"There's barely anyone here."

"People wander. You don't want someone to walk down the aisle and see a book magically floating on its own and then-" Arizona started.

"Alright, alright. I get it."

Callie folded her legs together and stretched her arms out. Her whole body felt stiff due to her sitting hours upon hours surrounded by medical journals. However, it was the only way she could freely speak to Arizona, though in a hushed voice. She had sought out a quiet area in the library, hoping that Arizona could find the journal she'd seen the case in, but it was to no avail. It was _somewhere_ in the general area they'd been seated in, but Arizona couldn't properly recall and she couldn't flip through all of the books that Callie had been amassing. Callie had lifted up each title and briefly shown Arizona each one, but the woman did not seem to recall having read that specific case in that specific title she was holding up. She'd read many other cases in those journals, however.

Callie picked up another journal and lifted it, showing it to the blonde.

"Nope," Arizona said.

Callie started to flip through the journal but was stopped by Arizona. "Not that one, get another. You should read that one, though, it's amazing!"

"Have you read _all _of these?" Callie asked in disbelief, throwing the book onto another pile which Arizona had claimed to have read.

"Most."

"Oh man," Callie groaned. "Get a life."

The brunette quickly realized what she had said and stopped to look at Arizona. But the ghost only watched her in amusement, and when met with Callie's horrified expression, she burst into a fit of giggles.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"I get it, it's an expression," Arizona laughed.

"But…"

"It's funny. Especially considering the circumstances."

"Sorry, I'm just tired."

"Calm down, Callie," she said. "I'm not upset, I don't get upset over something trivial like that."

Callie picked up another book and watched Arizona, who now stood up to scan the shelves again. She wondered why her comment hadn't offended Arizona, though she was glad it hadn't. Was Arizona glad to be dead? Maybe Callie was thinking too much into it. It was a trivial remark. It didn't upset the ghost.

A part of that wonderment had struck Callie as odd.

Because, really… it would be so nice if Arizona was alive.

"Hey, you!" she heard.

She looked over to the direction of the voice and blinked at the library assistant standing at the end of the two shelves. He seemed to be incredibly angry.

"….Yeah?" she asked.

He stormed over to her and now stood in front of her, looking down at her while pointing to the various stacks of books and journals that lay scattered on the floor.

"I hope you plan on cleaning this mess up!" he exclaimed.

"I will, I-"

"Like, shelving them back into their proper place!" he lectured, dismissing what she had to say.

"I said I will, okay?" Callie said. Arizona walked back over to her and observed the fuming library assistant.

"I hate this guy," Arizona told her.

"Come with me," he said.

"Uh, I'm in the middle-"

"Just come with me!"

"Okay, jeez!" Callie said, standing up and following the young man to the back of the medical library. Arizona promptly followed behind the two. He quickly led her to the back shelves and Callie widened her eyes at the sight of stacks and stacks of books scattered on the floor, stretching down the entire aisle. They were all off the shelves.

"What the-" Callie started.

"This is what some disrespectful, ungrateful _surgeon_ does every night," he grumbled. "_Every_ night!"

"Look, it's not me."

"I _know_ it's not you. But you _surgeons_ should keep in mind that we also do a lot of work supporting you and your success. So you should treat us better!" he rambled, still fuming. His face seemed to be turning red.

"Okay, I understand," Callie said. "I'll clean up my mess, I promise."

"Once I find the god damned surgeon that does this every night, I'll report them to the chief," he continued, ignoring her reassurance.

"Uh."

"I don't know _who _has keys to this library to cause this mess every night. We don't have extras, so I'm suspecting a janitor. But what janitor would go through a bunch of medical journals?"

Callie turned to Arizona now, since the man seemed to be lost in his own rantings. She narrowed her eyes and the blonde quickly averted her gaze, leaning on a shelf and lightly tapping her fingers against it.

It was her.

"I _swear_ this hospital is haunted," the man said. Callie looked over to him, almost sure that he was aware of Arizona's presence, but again, he was lost in his own rantings. He seemed to realize that Callie had been looking at him and quickly turned his attention to her again.

"Anyway, clean up your mess," he told her, before walking off.

Callie now turned her attention to Arizona, who walked down the messy aisle of books.

"It's you, isn't it?" Callie asked.

"What!?" Arizona exclaimed. "No!"

"Liar."

"Fine," she said. "It's me."

"You brat," Callie said. "You're gonna get someone in trouble."

Arizona fell on her knees and started rummaging through a stack of books as Callie walked over to her. The back aisle was desolate, so they were sure that no one would walk over and inquire. The place seemed to be notoriously avoided with good reason; it was a mess.

"Can you blame me?" Arizona asked. "I'm so engrossed in what I'm reading and then the journal I read always references a ton of others so I go and grab those and by the time I'm done, everything's a mess and it's morning so I don't have time to shelve them back in their proper places."

"But you have time in the night," Callie retorted. "You have the whole night."

"But then I want to read more!" Arizona said. "Why would I waste my time putting stuff back when I can just consume more?"

Callie smiled and joined Arizona in her efforts, but she mostly did nothing but observe the blonde who became determined to find the journal. The woman had her face scrunched up in concentration. Callie's heart felt like it was going to explode, she felt that strange floating sensation in her chest while watching the ghost.

"You… are," Callie started. Arizona stopped and looked up at her. "_So_ cute."

Arizona smiled, but said nothing. She looked back down at the stacks of books in front of her, flipping through them and throwing them on another pile that seemed to be forming. Callie felt her heart drop a little – Arizona seemed dismissive. She was smiling, but she said nothing. So Callie thought about lifting her hand to bring Arizona's face to hers so that she'd look into her eyes and maybe kiss her and then acknowledge her comment. She'd been planning to do that, she'd been determined, she decided – sketching the situation quickly in her head, and then she lifted her hand to do it but Arizona lifted a book up and accidently slapped her hand away.

"Found it!" she exclaimed.

###

Callie was frozen. Her hands were shaking and her line of sight seemed to be blurring. It was slightly blurry because she had briefly teared up due to the sweat burning her eyes. Beads of sweat were trickling down from her forehead and into her eyes. It was brief. But it had thrown her off for a bit. Because she was incredibly nervous.

Her head was pounding. She could hear the heart monitor going crazy and she could hear Webber in front of her – roaring, angry – but also trying to settle her. Trying hard. Because they had come so far and she made one wrong move and that was being too slow. She had to be fast, she had to be faster – but she had failed to do that, she had failed at exertion of her efforts and now she was frozen because the heart monitor was going crazy and Webber was barking at her and her head was pounding and her patient was probably going to die.

"Torres!" she heard in front of her – it was like a drawl, a groan.

Maybe she'd die too, because all her symptoms felt like a fucking heart attack.

"_Torres!_" she heard again.

She fucked up.

"_Callie_."

She really fucked up.

"_Calliope!"_ she heard again.

It was a soft voice behind her. It was soft, incredibly soft – musical, almost. Harmonious. There was a tone about it that made her heart race in a different kind of way than it had been racing just then. It reminded her of a woman she wanted to kiss.

"Calliope."

No, it _was_ the woman she wanted to kiss.

It was Arizona.

"Calm down, Calliope," Arizona reassured her, whispering to her from behind. "Remember?" she asked. "Remember what you read?"

"BP's dropping!"

Callie stiffened, her hand suddenly shaking again.

"Doctor Torres!" she heard.

"Callie?" she heard Arizona ask. "Callie!" she called again.

She felt a soft touch on her shoulder, and felt cool fingertips graze her forehead. Her forehead didn't feel so hot anymore. That soothing touch had cooled her body.

"Callie, listen to me," Arizona said. "It's okay."

"It's okay."

Suddenly, that soothing voice sent a calm wave throughout her body – she stilled her hand and felt her shaking stop, bringing her attention back to the open body in front of her. She took a deep breath and proceeded, unsure of where to go, but tackling the problems that lay firstly in front of her.

She moved again.

And she moved fast.

As she did this, Arizona spoke again. "Good," she said. "Now, remember what you read?"

"I remember," Callie whispered, taking control of the situation. The heart monitor gradually steadied and Webber fell silent – the whole OR fell silent as they heeded Callie's demands and watched her salvage the looming disaster into a breathtaking miracle.

It was a blur to Callie – the first half, but the second half went smoothly and she could feel now, a sudden rush.

Her patient lived.

###

Callie stood at the sink, scrubbing her hands and feeling Arizona's steady gaze on her.

"Thank you, thank you," she murmured, rubbing her fingers together under the ice cold water that reminded her of Arizona's fingertips. Richard Webber entered the room, taking off his gown and tossing it away. He went to the sink and watched Callie.

"Torres," Webber said.

"Sir?" Callie asked. "I'm sorry, I-"

"No, it was a risk," he said, stopping her. "An insane, high risk surgery," he said.

"That I _forced_ you to do," he admitted.

"I'm sorry, sir."

"Stop it, Torres. I forced you to do it for a reason," he explained. "And it was a mess for a while but you did well," he continued. "So well, I'm impressed."

"Thank you, sir," Callie said in amazement.

"No one could have done that the way you did," he said. "_No one._"

"Sir?"

"Torres, when you come in tomorrow morning, be sure to get a new badge, you're now an Orthopedic Attending."

###

"Congratulations are in order!" Arizona exclaimed, clinking her empty wine glass against Callie's own, which was filled with red wine.

Callie laughed as the blonde ghost grinned and plopped down next to her on the couch. "It's a shame you can't drink with me!"

Arizona only smiled and set her glass on the coffee table in front of them, then gently folding her hands on her lap.

"It wouldn't do anything," Arizona said, shrugging. "Don't waste it."

Callie only nodded her head and took a sip of the red liquid, glancing at Arizona, who only seemed to watch her with curiosity.

"What?"

"I miss getting drunk," she said.

"It's fun. Did you do it often?"

Arizona leaned back on the couch and narrowed her eyes, giving Callie something of a devilish grin. It seemed very suggestive. "Maybe," she answered.

Callie thought about inquiring – she wondered what it was like, thinking about how Arizona would act if drunk – it was an amusing thought, but she quickly dismissed it.

"Thanks for your help in surgery today," Callie said. "I didn't think you'd be so caught up with medical procedures."

"It was all you."

"I was nervous. I thought maybe it was a punishment," she admitted.

"Richard's not the type of guy to do that," Arizona insisted.

"Richard? You're calling him Richard now?" Callie asked in disbelief.

"It helps bring down the intimidation factor when you're on a first name basis."

"Yeah," Callie laughed. "I'm sure he calls you Arizona, too."

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Arizona joked.

They shared a laugh and quickly quieted down. Callie fell silent and fumbled with her glass, tracing the rim with her index finger.

"But seriously, thank you. You calmed me down. A lot."

"I'm glad," Arizona said. "You didn't even need those journals."

"I did for that last part," Callie insisted. "You're amazing, reading all those journals."

Arizona grinned, clearly taking pride in her seemingly depthless medical knowledge. "Well, I don't really have anything else going for me."

"Really?" Callie asked.

"Yeah, so I read medical journals," Arizona explained.

Callie nodded her head and took another sip of her wine. She then set the glass down on the coffee table and met Arizona's gaze.

"I think you do," Callie said.

"Hmm?"

"I think you do have a lot going for you," she said, moving closer to her on the couch. She was close now and the blonde sat up properly and drew closer to her. Callie brought her hand up to Arizona's face and gently ran the tip of her thumb along her cheek. For a moment, it seemed to Callie that Arizona's breath caught in her throat. It was something of a hushed, yet startled gasp, Callie couldn't quite tell. But she noticed a look in the ghost's eyes that made her continue.

"If only people could see you, you'd know," Callie started.

"I'd… know what?" Arizona asked, softly. Callie knew that Arizona could stop and dismiss her, the way she had in the library. But she didn't.

She didn't.

"That you'd have people lining up for you," Callie declared.

Arizona laughed softly, closing her eyes for a moment. She opened them again and simply watched Callie. They sat like that, for just a moment, and then Callie brought her thumb from Arizona's cheek and gently ran it across her bottom lip. The blonde apparition blinked as Callie suddenly pulled her hand away from her face and back onto her own lap.

Callie shifted her gaze to her hand on her lap. She lifted it in front of her and observed it as Arizona watched on. She then looked back over to her.

"Do you feel my touch?" Callie asked, hesitantly.

"I do," she said. "It feels… good," Arizona said.

She sat up and moved closer to Callie and picked up her hand and brought it to her face again.

"All the time, it feels good."

Callie brought her other hand to Arizona's face and pulled her in, bringing her lips close to her own. Their lips met softly – gently, it almost felt like a graze. It was welcoming, but also hesitant.

"Do you… feel me?" Callie asked.

"I do," Arizona murmured, her breath hot against Callie's lips. "You feel good."

Callie didn't feel the hesitation this time, neither of them did, it seemed. The kiss was passionate this time, lips met each other with force, with yearning – the kiss was soft and languid.

"It feels good being around you," Arizona whispered, as Callie pulled away to look at her.

"I'm glad."

This time, Arizona brought her arms around Callie's neck and pulled her in for another kiss. Startled, the brunette's hands fell to the other woman's waist. Callie felt a tongue graze her lip, seeking entrance – not forcefully, yet not hesitantly. Callie heard herself moan as she met the blonde's tongue, she felt her linger and explore her mouth. She suddenly felt enveloped.

She pulled away slightly and Arizona seemed startled, surprised that Callie would stop the kiss. But her expression quickly changed as she watched Callie catch her breath and watch her. Callie guessed she didn't need to breathe. She smiled and attempted to pull Arizona in for another kiss, but was startled when the woman pulled away and grabbed her shoulders, pushing her back onto the couch.

Arizona hovered above Callie on all-fours, watching her intently – her blue eyes glowing with a different kind of light that Callie hadn't seen before.

"Tell me, Callie," Arizona whispered, softly. "What were you dreaming of this morning?"

"Huh?"

"I felt lust emanating from you," she said, smiling as Callie's eyes grew darker. "Lust and passion and…"

"And?"

"And… and I'm not sure what else."

Callie brought her arms around Arizona's neck and pulled her down to meet her lips.

"I was dreaming of you," Callie murmured, before kissing her again.

They laid on the couch, kissing with fervor – Callie felt herself waiting for this moment for a long time. Arizona slightly drew back away from her and tugged at her shoulders, then peeling off Callie's shirt and tossing it beside the couch. Her eyes quickly fell to Callie's bra-clad chest.

"You looked at me that way earlier, too," Callie said, huskily. Her voice was low now, almost raspy. She watched as Arizona hesitantly brought her eyes back to Callie's face, almost confused.

"What?" she murmured, as if she hadn't heard her at all.

"You looked at my chest earlier… in the same way."

"I did," Arizona affirmed. "I was thinking…" she said, reaching her arms behind Callie to unclasp the bra. She brought her lips to Callie's again, slipping her tongue into her mouth teasingly. The clasp of the bra opened with a pop and Arizona quickly slipped it off of her shoulders. "…about how much I wanted to see what was underneath."

Callie giggled, but her laugh quickly transitioned into a moan when Arizona latched her mouth on a breast, placing her hand roughly on Callie's other breast. Callie was surprised at the way Arizona licked her breasts, almost claiming them as her own as she bit down on her nipple, gently pulling it with her teeth and lips, then licking them to ease the slight pain. She sucked each nipple into her mouth, refusing to go down even when Callie tangled her fingers into the blonde's hair, urging her downwards.

And when Arizona finally traced her tongue down Callie's body, the brunette recalled the hesitancy from earlier. She felt herself unraveling as Arizona popped open her jeans and slipped them off, throwing them beside her. The blonde briefly fell on her knees, opening Callie's legs and wrapping them around her waist before leaning over her again.

"What?" Arizona asked, pressing her forehead against Callie's.

"Wha, what?" Callie gasped, feeling Arizona's cool fingertips trace the skin around her navel.

"Are you nervous?" Arizona whispered, planting light kisses on her jaw. "Don't be nervous."

"I'm not, I'm not," Callie murmured. "I want you."

She felt those cool fingertips travel downward and thumb at the fabric of her underwear.

"Just," Callie started to say. "…Are you sure?"

"What?" Arizona whispered.

"Do you want _me?_" Callie asked her. And suddenly, Arizona brought her hands to Callie's face and gently placed them on her cheeks, tracing her cool fingertips on her skin.

"I want you," Arizona declared. "I'm positive that I do."

"How positive?"

"I've never been more positive in my life-" Arizona faltered on her words, and thought briefly about the words, while grazing her thumbs against Callie's cheeks.

"Well, afterlife. Or death," she said. "Whatever."

To this, Callie laughed. Arizona brought her hands back to Callie's waist, and hooked her thumbs on her underwear, quickly slipping them off of her legs and throwing them to the side.

"It's like you're the one haunting me, Callie."

When Arizona slipped into her, she felt a strong sensation in her chest, unsure of what it was. She felt her thrust lightly, felt those cool fingertips meet her own heat and then she was sure that Arizona was what she wanted. She thrusted gently, all the while, watching Callie, who wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck. She tangled her fingers in her hair as Arizona's thrusts grew stronger, she felt herself enveloped – she felt her walls enveloping Arizona's fingers, she felt herself coming with the sensations.

She wrapped her legs around Arizona's waist – briefly noting that the blonde was still fully clothed and she was about to say something, but was cut off when she felt Arizona curl her fingers and push deeper.

"God," Callie gasped. "I'm gonna," she murmured, her breath catching in her throat, her gasps growing wilder and staccato.

"Come then," Arizona whispered, her breath hot against Callie's ear. "Come for me."

Arizona pushed deeper and all Callie could hear was her own startled gasps, Arizona's heavy breathing against her ear, and the delicious sound of Arizona's fingers pumping wildly into her. She felt herself coming and wrapped arms and legs tightly around Arizona as her body froze up in ecstasy.

When it was over, she loosened her grip and fell back onto the couch. Arizona rested her forehead against Callie's shoulder and listened intently to her ragged breathing. She gently slipped out of her and brought her drenched fingers to her lips, licking them clean.

"Mmm," Arizona murmured.

"I thought," Callie gasped, her breath still short. "I thought you couldn't taste anything."

"I can taste you," Arizona murmured, wrapping her arms around Callie's neck. She kissed the exposed skin, lightly tracing her tongue along Callie's jaw before landing a quick peck on her lips.

"And it's amazing."


End file.
